


The Odyssey

by kuroganeattacksquad



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Daemons, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Anxiety, Character Death, Explicit Language, M/M, References to Depression, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-07 04:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 40,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20303221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroganeattacksquad/pseuds/kuroganeattacksquad
Summary: Sword-less and nation-less, Kurogane makes a living on the sea with only his daemon as a companion. Meeting a daemon-less man at a witch's shop is the first step towards his fate - if he's willing to help the man get home.My submission to the 2019 KuroFai Olympics.





	1. Homeless

**Author's Note:**

> I swear, it's a happier story than what the tags indicate!
> 
> Thanks to everyone who set up and participated in the KuroFai Olymfics on DreamWidth! It's exciting to be a part of such an amazing community of shippers :)
> 
> Inspiration: The chapter titles of The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel and this one episode of Bugs Bunny I watched when I was a kid. 
> 
> Enjoy~

Kurogane stopped short. He squinted. Alcohol didn’t make what he was seeing any clearer.

“Was that always there?” he asked Akame.

Akame strained from his shoulder, her tail hooked around his neck for balance. Her voice was soft against his ear, flickering tongue tickling at his cheek. “I’ve never seen it before. But then, we haven’t been in this town long.”

“City,” Kurogane corrected automatically, a note of disdain in his voice. It’s not that he hated the crowds of people, the noise, the hustle and bustle. It’s that he longed for a different place with familiar sounds, faces more like his own and a rhythm he could fit into.

The house looked so out of place in this dirty city. Nestled between two towering buildings, the small house – or temple or cottage or library – sat some distance from the pavement. The roof seemed to glide more than slope to meet the pristine white walls. All the angles were round or circular, giving the house a non-threatening air completely at odds with its strange situation. Kurogane was immediately drawn to the silver crescent moon adorned on top, its meaning here he didn’t completely understand.

“You mind as well go in.”

Kurogane turned to see a tall, dark-haired man – well, no, a boy – with several parcels tucked under his arms standing across the street, staring at him.

Akame hissed against his ear when he began to cross the street. Kurogane used the opportunity to judge him. The boy was gangly and that, coupled with his many packages and his constant attempts to push his round-framed glasses up his nose, made him stumble through his long strides. His mink daemon struggled not to get caught underfoot. Most importantly, Kurogane noted that on this busy street, only the two of them and their daemons seemed to pay any attention to the strange house.

“Do you mind?” the boy asked after he had crossed. He nodded at the closed gate.

Kurogane hesitated just a moment. Then he remembered that he had nothing pressing to do today, not much left to do in life, really. So despite Akame’s trepidation, he unlatched the gate and held it open for the boy and his daemon.

“You can come in, too,” the boy said, repeating his words from earlier. “The mistress said we’d be getting a lot of guests today. I guess you’re one of them.”

Kurogane frowned. “How in the hell could you possibly know something like that? I never got any invitation.”

“Well, you – ” the boy started. His daemon darted up his leg and ran in circles around his abdomen.

The boy squealed, jumping from leg to leg, his many parcels in danger of falling. “Haruka, stop! You know that tickles!” Finally, the daemon quit her laps and finished on his shoulder. She whispered something in his ear.

“Good point.” The boy stared at Kurogane with a stoic expression. “You’ll just have to find out yourself.”

“There’s something wrong about all of this,” Akame hissed. “If we step over the threshold, we can never go back.”

Despite what red cuts and white deaths that coloured his life would suggest, Kurogane was not a rash man. The heat of battle brought out in him a passion unmatched; but he was still careful when getting into such situations and remained cautious even as his body moved to the rhythm of his quickened pulse.

So no, Kurogane was not rash. He was quite stubborn though, and any sign that he should leave from his daemon was no match against his desire to solve this mystery.

With Akame’s tail thudding angrily at his back, he stepped into the garden and closed the gate behind himself.

What was only a sprinkling of rain before, too light to warrant an umbrella, increased in frequency until Kurogane finished the path up to the house drenched.

The boy immediately dove under the roof’s overhang. He toed his shoes off with the help of his daemon. “Come on in! I’ll I’ll get you a towel and get us some tea – ”

Before he could finish, the sliding door was whipped open, framing a tall woman with an even taller man.

“Ah, Watanuki,” she said. “You made it just in time.” She smiled when she talked to him, the smile fading when her eyes rested on Kurogane.

“This must be intense if you’re in your ceremonial clothes,” Watanuki said, taking in with obvious curiosity her long black dress and trailing sleeves, pinned-up hair and exaggerated headpiece where her daemon, a purple butterfly, rested.

“Go inside. Maru and Moro will tell you what to do.”

When Watanuki went in, the woman came out, bare feet on the wet grass. The man took his time coming out, lacing up pristine white boots.

Kurogane tore his eyes away from the woman and her inscrutable gaze. He locked eyes with the man and momentarily lost his breath. He was warmly dressed in a long, white cloak trimmed with fur, decorated with elegant white swirls and overlaid with a sash obviously indicating some rank Kurogane couldn’t recognize. He had drawn his hood against the rain and locks of golden hair peaked out. His smile was bland, unimaginative, but his eyes… they were a deep, immersive blue, the colour Kurogane had always imagined the ocean was before he was exiled to it.

“So you’re the one who’ll guide me home,” the man said. For a moment, his smile flickered real.

Akame nibbled at Kurogane’s fingers and shared with him an observation that he should have noticed at the onset. Kurogane scowled. “Where’s your daemon?”

Those blue eyes grew cloudy with confusion. “A daemon?” He looked at the snake stretched out over Kurogane’s shoulders. Akame flicked her tongue at him. “Oh yes, I have one of those.”

“Where?” Kurogane repeated. Unease built in his stomach, a perverse notion that the man standing in front of him was a willing part of a larger formula that ended with his demise.

Akame pushed her nose against Kurogane’s hand, this time comforting. Kurogane ran a finger over the rough scales between her eyes.

The man watched on, his face inscrutable.

“Here come the rest,” the woman said.

Kurogane glanced over his shoulder to the garden, frowning.

The rain had a terrible way of messing with his vision. Still, Kurogane couldn’t believe what he and Akame were seeing. A patch of grass and a parallel patch of sky morphed and stretched out. The sky fell like a great raindrop and the ground rose like a budding flower. They met in the middle and stayed suspended, looking like a giant, mirrored hourglass. They shattered and a girl tumbled on to the grass next to a boy who fell from the sky.

“Poor dears.” The woman hid her mouth behind a fan, her butterfly daemon fluttering wickedly. “Would you two help them?”

The tall man bent to help the girl and her sparrow daemon hiding in the hood of her long cape. So Kurogane went to the boy and stood awkwardly next to him as he got to his feet.

“You alright?” Kurogane asked.

A monkey stood next to him, carefully evaluating Akame. The boy nudged his googles up to his forehead and gave Kurogane a dazed smile. “I’m fine. I think.”

He looked around, taking in the garden, the cottage and the girl being helped to her feet next to him. “Oh, wow.” The girl noticed him and blushed. She gave him a small wave.

“Now that we’re all here,” the woman said, commanding everyone’s attention, “let’s introduce ourselves.”

It became immediately obvious that she had no intention of going first. The girl in the long cape stepped forward.

“My name is Sakura.” Her daemon danced around her shoulders to nuzzle her chin. Sakura laughed. “And this is Kero. We’re from the Clow Kingdom, a nation in the desert. I’m a princess, but I’m studying to become a priestess like my mother was.

“Part of my training is to go on a pilgrimage. The head priest said that I should go on a great journey and sent me here.” Sakura smiled. “It’s nice to meet you all!” She looked to the boy next to her.

The boy’s daemon turned into a sparrow, never staying in one form. This was the way for daemons until their human partners finished puberty. She settled on his head to make a mess in his hair. “We’re Syaoran and Meiling. I don’t actually know what I’m doing here.” He paused for a moment, but with the woman who was clearly behind everything staying silent, Syaoran pressed on.

“I joined my father – oh, he’s an archaeologist – on a dig in China. I found this weird board.” Syaoran held up a colourful square with strange symbols that had fallen to the earth with him. “Next thing I knew, I was here.”

“What’s China?” Sakura asked.

“He means Xin, the Phoenix Emperor’s kingdom,” Kurogane said.

“China hasn’t had an empire for years,” Syaoran said.

Kurogane folded his arms. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

The woman clapped her hands enthusiastically. “Oh, what fun! I’ll so enjoy listening in on your travels!”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kurogane bristled.

“Hurry up, let’s continue,” she said. “You’re getting soaked out here.”

“Fine.” Kurogane jabbed a thumb to his chest. “Name’s Kurogane. This here’s Akame.” Akame wiggled her tongue, tasting the many scents that the rain carried. “I’m a …” Introductions were something new. His sword used to speak volumes for him. Princess Tomoyo had taken that, too. “I have a ship,” he finished lamely. “I’ve been carrying cargo from coast to coast for seven years.”

“Isn’t that lucky,” the tall man said. “I’m Fai and I’m looking for a ship to take me home.”

“Is it luck or is it fate?” the woman asked.

“Yes, you were saying something about that earlier,” Fai said.

She tapped the closed fan against her mouth. “It was fate that brought you here. You breathe fate into existence with every choice you make. It’s the path shown in the stars – should you choose to follow it.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Syaoran said.

“My name is Yuuko. I’m the Interdimensional Time Witch. Fate has brought you here for me to lead you to your next way-point. It is, of course, your choice to pursue it.” Her daemon crawled along her headpiece as though it had forgotten that it could fly. “Think of me as your compass when the seas get rough.”

“Oh yeah?” This wasn’t Kurogane’s first time dealing with smart, proud women. “And what’s your help going to cost us? Supposing we go, of course.”

“Fai has already paid the cost.”

“It only seemed fair.” Fai shrugged. “Although I will admit, the price was pretty steep.”

“I’m sure it’ll be well worth it to get home,” Sakura said.

Fai’s smile tightened. “Let’s hope.”

The doors to the house were thrown open again. It was the boy with the ferret daemon, standing behind twin girls with caterpillars tangled in their curling pigtails.

“Maru, Moro! Did you bring what I asked?” Yuuko asked.

“Yes!” the girls chirped in unison.

“Bring them here.”

The girls stepped into the rain. The boy and his daemon stayed in the shelter of the house, watching. The items they brought were proudly held over their heads: A leather cylinder and what looked like a giant, white meat bun. Kurogane’s mouth watered. 

Yuuko selected the tube first. She held it out to the group. “A map that shows your journey.”

No one took it. Sakura and Syaoran were too young to decide what their roles would be with so little information. Fai arched an eyebrow at Kurogane. Kurogane bristled. Yes, he wanted to see what was in there and know where a creature as strange as Fai called home.

He stepped forward. “This doesn't mean anything,” he growled. He took the tube.

Inside was a scroll that, when open, was barely as long as his forearm. It was smaller than any map Kurogane had seen before and he quickly scanned it.

The map showed all the continents and their connections, the oceans and rivers that filled the space between. What was most curious about the map, however, was that it became a perfect circle when unrolled. Instead of the dark space that filled the edges of a map, this looked like one would topple off when they reached the edge.

Their destination was hard to spot. It took Kurogane several passes before he saw the X carefully draw at the most western point. Right in the middle of the Passage of Exit. Great.

“It's a tough trip,” he said. “I'm used to sailing a ship with a crew of just me, but I can't pass through the Passage of Exit by myself. No one can.”

Yuuko seemed disinterested. “I'm sure you'll find a way.”

She picked up the white bun next. It was so large, she needed two hands to hold it. It was shaped to look like a sleeping rabbit with long ears, short paws and a pale plum on its too-broad forehead. Kurogane hoped that it tasted as good as it looked.

“Mokona will help stay in contact,” Yuuko said.

“Who?” Syaoran asked.

“Her.” Yuuko whispered in its ear. The rabbit’s eyes snapped open.

Kurogane jumped back. Akame slipped into her usual defensive position, coiled around his neck, out of the way and protecting his most vulnerable area.

“Who’s that!” Kurogane shouted.

Being both a daemon and a snake, Akame noticed things he couldn’t. She whispered her observations to him. “Not exactly a daemon. She's like one of us, but there’s a lot of the witch’s magic and some other stuff in her, too.”

As bewildering an explanation as it was, Kurogane had to be satisfied with Akame’s answer because Yuuko was staying silent. Instead, the white meat bun held its little paws a loft. “Mokona is Mokona!” she happily chirped.

“Mokona is very good. And so cute!” Yuuko nuzzled the rabbit like a child with their fluffy daemon. Mokona mewed in delight. “She’ll help me stay in contact with you while you’re travelling.”

Mokona jumped down to the ground, then, starting with Fai, shook everyone’s hands and their daemon’s paws. When she got to Kurogane, he folded his arms. Akame had no hands, so she just flickered her tongue at Mokona.

“What a meanie!” Mokona waved her paw, telling Kurogane off as a school teacher might. Only much less threatening as she couldn’t even reach his knee. “Mokona will work hard to become good friends with you!”

For the daemon of a person he just meant to be speaking directly to Kurogane rather than Akame was perversely intimate. “Don’t bother.” Kurogane pointed at Fai. “Go see that guy.”

Mokona happily joined Fai who immediately started to coo over her.

“Now, travellers. I have given you all I can at this point. Go follow your fate. And good luck,” she added.

“Wait just a minute,” Kurogane said. He rolled the map up and shoved it into a tube. “I never agreed to anybody getting on my ship.”

“It's your decision,” Yuuko said. She smiled wickedly. “I have a feeling you'll say yes.”

“Hell no.”

Fai turned to Kurogane. He was still playing with Mokona's ears. “Is there anything I can give you?”

The only thing Kurogane wanted was to be by Princess Tomoyo's side again. Even a man as handsome as Fai couldn't change that. “No.”

“Nothing? I traded with Yuuko for coin. I can give you riches.” He saw the lack of reaction on Kurogane's face. “How about new adventures? New worlds to discover? No? Then why do you even own a ship?”

“The Kirikuro was given to me,” Kurogane snapped back.

“A gift?” Fai was surprised. “You hold on that closely to a gift you don't even like?”

“You wouldn't understand,” Kurogane muttered. Akame nudged at his chin. “I'm not going,” he said to her. 

She knew his heart wasn't in it. “Maybe this will help us learn whatever lesson Princess Tomoyo is trying to teach us.”

Kurogane thought about that. “She couldn't possibly know this was going to happen.”

“Maybe,” Akame hissed. “Maybe not. She has the power to see into the future.”

Kurogane closed his eyes. He saw Princess Tomoyo's sad face as she sent him away seven years ago. Since then he'd learned how to sail a ship, load and unload cargo, live a life on the sea for himself. He knew that none of these were the lessons Princess Tomoyo was trying to teach. Maybe he needed to shake things up.

He ran a finger down Akame's head. “Okay. I'm in.”

Yuuko smiled, self-satisfied. “I knew it.”

“I'll be going as well!” Sakura piped up. “The more places I travel to, the more successful my pilgrimage will be.”

“I guess I'll go, too.” Syaoran said. “I want to learn more about this world before I find a way back to my own.”

Mokona clapped enthusiastically in Fai's arms. 

“That's everyone,” Fai said. “Shall we get going?”

Kurogane held the gate open for everyone to pass through. He cast a glance at those four remaining at the witch's house, Yuuko, the twins and the boy. Then he passed through the gate and closed it behind him.

The rain had begun to piddle out. The hot coastal sun peeked through the clouds and started rapidly drying everything within its gaze. 

“We need supplies, first,” Kurogane said. He cast a glance at their odd assemblage. “And clothes.”

Kurogane dumped them at a clothier's while he went to the wholesale vendors by the docks. The coins Fai gave him to cover the expenses were rapidly decimated as Kurogane procured barrels of water and pickled food for their journey.

He rejoined them at midday. A city with lots of trade like this one in Xin had many different types of people from all over the globe. Dressing in kimono and jinbei helped them blend in better, but Fai still received many long stares over his bright hair.

Kurogane passed the change he had left after purchasing supplies to Fai. “Do you have any money left?”

“I have this.” Fai held up the coins he was just given. 

“I bought enough to get us to the Passage of Exit and back,” Kurogane said. “They're loading up my ship right now. Let's go.”

He led them to the docks and, proudly, to his spot in the harbour. The Kirikuro stood out against the other pale and battered ships in the dock with its sleek, black wood and black sails. The quarterdeck sloped elegantly downward to the front of the ship. The mizzen, main mast and foremast sprouted out of the deck at intervals. 

Fai stared at it and then Kurogane. “It certainly matches your... style.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

Mokona clapped her little paws together in excitement. “Capt'n Black!”

“Who's Captain Black?” Kurogane asked.

Mokona pointed at him.

Kurogane gritted his teeth. “I already told you, my name is Kurogane. You can call me that and only that.”

“Aye, aye, Capt'n Black!” Mokona fixed the little straw hat she had insisted on getting at the clothier's. 

“It's Kurogane!” The strange meat bun daemon had no problem invading his personal space, so he dug his fist down on her head.

“Ahhhhh! What a brute!” Mokona cried. Despite her words, her tone wasn't upset; rather she seemed to get a sort of masochistic glee from being bullied. 

“We'll have none of that,” Fai tutted, shooing Kurogane's hand away and fixing Mokona's hat. “Captain Black,” he whispered under his breath. He and Mokona shared a giggle.

“Just shut up and get on board.”

They ascended the gangway, negotiating around stockers who were loading their supplies. Kurogane showed them below deck. “I only have three individual rooms for bunking,” he said. He paused as he realized how auspicious that was. 

Sakura poked her head in a room. “I can take this one.”

Syaoran found the other and tossed his spare clothes and strange board in it.

Kurogane sighed. That left Fai. “The only room with double beds is the captain's quarters.” He unlocked the door with a key that hung around his neck. 

Dominating the middle of the room was the steering wheel for the ship. He lugged it out of the cabin and showed the back metal piece that fit into its stand. “This is like a key,” he explained. “The only way to steer the ship is with this wheel. The wheel is kept in the captain's quarters when I'm not around.”

“So it's a way to secure the ship when no one's here to protect it,” Syaoran said.

“Exactly.”

Kurogane brought the wheel upstairs as the last of the stockers loaded the goods. He fit the wheel on to its stand. “You all stand back while I get the ship going. We're leaving with this tide.”

Obediently, Fai, Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona leaned on railings and watched as Kurogane brought up the anchor, cast off from the deck and lowered the sails for the main mast. The sails flooded with wind. 

Kurogane let down the sails of the mizzen and manipulated it. Akame threaded her long body through the spokes of the wheel and followed Kurogane's directions to steer the Kirikuro away from the harbour.

Once they were a good distance away, Kurogane let down the rest of the sails and took over for Akame at the wheel. Akame transferred to the railing, basking in the sun as she watched Kurogane address the others on his ship.

“If you're going to be here, you mind as well learn how to run a ship,” Kurogane said. “I'll need your help to get through the Passage of Exit.”

“That would be amazing to learn,” Syaoran said excitedly.

“The sails are interesting,” Sakura said. “I'd like to learn the different ways you use the wind.”

“Okay,” Kurogane said. “That's a little weird, but okay.”

Kero tugged at a lock of Sakura's hair with his beak. “You didn't tell them what you can do.”

“Oh, right!” Sakura flushed. To everyone, she said, “I can manipulate wind.”

“That makes sense now,” Kurogane said.

“Does it?” Syaoran asked.

“Watch.” Sakura concentrated very hard. She put out a flat palm and a gust of wind surged ahead, filling the sails and moving the ship faster than before. 

“Hmm. That's a useful ability when you're on a ship,” Fai said.

Sakura beamed. 

They sailed for the rest of the day, until nighttime. Kurogane furled the sails, eager to take a break and catch a few hours of rest before waking up and starting again.

Their dinner was some of the pickled vegetables over rice, all prepared by Fai. At the table, Syaoran showed them something special.

“This is a phone,” he said. He held up a box with an image brightly lit inside of it. “This is my father,” he said softly. 

Fascinated, they watched as Syaoran showed them where he lived, one image at a time, Meiling occasionally chiming in with more details. At the end, he put the phone away. “I don't know how much longer it'll have battery power – ah, I mean, how much longer it'll keep working. But I'm happy that it's here.”

“Thanks for showing us,” Fai said.

They went to their respective rooms after dinner, Fai joining Kurogane in his. The captain's quarters were as compact as the rest of the ship, with two built-in beds opposite of each other, a cabinet with a bowl on top where Kurogane kept water to wash with and a small porthole that let in a little light during the day.

Kurogane stretched out on the bed, exhausted. Akame curled up on the pillow next to him. 

Fai hovered over him. “You should start teaching us tomorrow. I know how hard it is when everything falls on one person. And it'll give us something to do.”

“Fine,” Kurogane said. “Get to bed.”

What happened next, Kurogane didn't know, as he immediately fell into a sound sleep.

He was the first person awake the next morning, of course. He ate leftovers from dinner and started the ship running smoothly. As soon as the rest were awake and fed, he started teaching them different knots to keep the sails in place, the basics of navigating during the day and the night and how the rudder worked. 

They learned quickly, as there was little other activity on the ship besides each other; and soon, Kurogane was able to sleep full nights with Fai manning the wheel.

After a few days out at sea, a major problem caught Kurogane's attention.

“We need to make a stop-over,” he said.

The rest of the passengers were crowded around the quarter deck. Kurogane had looped a rope around one of the spokes of the wheel, a little cheat to keep the ship going straight. It was one of the ways he had been able to man the Kirikuro by himself all these years. 

Fai had been half-listening, half-playing with a delighted Mokona's floppy ears. His interest piqued at what Kurogane said. “Yukito said to follow the map. What happened?”

“When I did calculations for how many supplies we'd need, I didn't factor in a certain nuisance.” Kurogane stared straight at Mokona. “What kind of daemon eats anyway?”

“That's not fair, Capt'n Black!” Mokona whined. “Mokona want to taste all the flavours in the world!”

“Quiet, meat bun,” Akame hissed. “Or I'll eat you.”

“Captain Black will protect Mokona!”

“No, I won't,” Kurogane said flatly.

Fai rubbed at her ears. “I'll protect you.”

“Is there any place nearby?” Syaoran interrupted, cutting off their argument.

Kurogane huffed. Damn meat ball had a way of raising his blood pressure. Fai's way of fanning the flames didn't help much either. “There's a place I know a bit about.” Kurogane unfurled his map, the useful one that actually had places labelled unlike the map the witch had given Fai. He struggled to keep it flat and point at the same time. Mokona helped him by holding up a corner of the map.

“We're here,” Kurogane pointed. He moved his finger a scant inch to the right where it hit a landmass that peaked out like a nose on a face. “This is Hana. It's not a big place, but it's a fishing town and used to boats stopping by for emergency resupplying. They should have everything I need, so long as we have the coin.” He gave Fai a meaningful look for emphasis. 

“Don't worry about that,” Fai said cheerfully. A gold coin appeared in his hand, skimmed over his knuckles and then disappeared again like magic. 

“Can't be more than a day's journey.” Kurogane took one last look at the map before rolling it up. He verified the position of the sun in the sky, then threw the rope off of the wheel. “I'll take care of the ship until we get there.”

“Sorry, Kurogane,” Sakura said.

Kurogane looked over his shoulder at her. “Hmm?”

Sakura's fists were clenched tight in the hem of her shirt. She seemed frustrated. “I should have learned more about the Kirikuro. Then you wouldn't have to take care of everything yourself.”

“It's fine.” Kurogane turned back to the stretch of ship and water before him. “I'm used to doing everything myself.”

Akame, over his shoulders, nuzzled her head against his earlobe. “She still looks upset. Say something encouraging!”

Like what, Kurogane thought wildly. He remembered the willingness of all of them to learn the ins and outs of the ship. Even that white meat ball of a daemon was helping – or at least, she was accessorizing like a seaman. The sea was both a refuge and source of frantic terror for Kurogane, a prisoner returning to the familiarity of his cell, still behind bars. These past few days with a full ship had taken the edge off that quite a bit.

“You've been helpful,” Kurogane said. “All of you have. I'm grateful.” His face twisted unusually, so he didn't turn around.

“They're happy,” Akame told him.

“I should fucking hope so,” Kurogane muttered. His face was all kinds of hot.

The day past quickly. Sakura entertained them with stories of her homeland and Syaoran tried to match her with fantastical descriptions of a world with metal boxes that flew in the air and pocket-sized devices that had all the knowledge of the universe in them. 

“Sounds like magic,” Kurogane said suspiciously.

“It's not.” Syaoran sounded truly exhausted from constantly defending his claims against the rest of them.

Kurogane was even able to catch an hour's sleep in the dusk with Fai at the wheel. A nagging feeling that they were going off course caused Kurogane to wake and return to the wheel. He needn't have worried – they were heading perfectly straight to the destination. Still, Kurogane sent Fai away and worked the night in lonely peace.

Half way through the next day, Akame's keen eyes spotted a speck on the horizon. Kurogane sent Syaoran climbing up the mast to the fighting top to try and spot it. Meiling as a monkey swung through the netting to say “land-ho!”.

Hana's docks were flush with fishing boats and the odd bigger trading vessel. The sight threw Kurogane off – this was prime fishing hours and everyone was in. Maybe it was a festival day? Kurogane racked his brain, but couldn't think of any larger holidays that landed on this date. 

Unlike the fishing boats, the Kirikuro was made for ocean travel. It was the size of at least four fishing boats placed nose-to-end. The port master used a colourful bandana to flag Kurogane into the furthest spot on the wharf. While Akame stretched herself between the railing of the quarter deck and the top spoke of the wheel, Kurogane ran along the main deck to handle the masts, both in constant communication through their silent connection. The rest of the passengers settled out of the way to watch Kurogane work. 

When all the sails were up and a rope secured the Kirikuro to the port, Kurogane relaxed. He took the wheel from its place and locked it in the captain's deck. The port master hurried up with his ledger, his skeleton of a weasel daemon behind him.

“You staying, sah?” asked the port master. He was small and shaky, his clear eyes darting over the Kirikuro and the passengers on board. His eyes widened at the sight of them. Kurogane didn't blame them.

“We are,” Kurogane said, hoping to settle the details quickly and send the port master on his way. He specifically didn't dock on this side of the Nihon islands for a reason; it was too close to Shuma, too close to memories both good and bad, and far too close to Princess Tomoyo for him to ever truly be comfortable. “Just for the day, maybe one night spent on board.” 

“Good, sah.” The port master wrote this down in his ledger. “Name of the vessel?”

“The Kirikuro.”

The name didn't elicit any kind of response from the port master except for the quick work of his calligraphy brush, occasionally pausing to dip his brush in the pot of ink his daemon carried in its front paws. The weasel stared unblinkingly at Kurogane. Kurogane stared back.

“Your cargo, sah?” 

Kurogane snapped out of his reverie. “Nothing this time. I'm shipping some passengers. We came to Hana to resupply.”

“Good, good.” 

Kurogane peaked over the ledger. As shaky as the port master was, his writing was flawlessly neat in quick, little brush strokes. Perfect, except for a small blot next Kirikuro. 

“Did we come on a festival day?” Kurogane asked, knowing Akame would study the port master's reaction for clues. Kurogane instead studied the weasel daemon out of the corner of his eye.

“No, no, sah, everything's fit.” The port master gave nothing away, but the weasel's tail began fitfully shaking back and forth in time with the port master's shaking. 

Kurogane paid the fee for vessel of his size staying one day and one night in port, with the promise of getting the night fee back if he left with the evening tide. Perfect – after this welcome, Kurogane had no intentions of staying a minute longer than necessary. 

The port master and his daemon scuttled back to the simple shelter that served as their office. Kurogane reboarded the Kirikuro.

“Everything ship-shape, Captain?” Fai asked. Mokona on his shoulder saluted. She had her straw-brimmed hat on this morning. 

“Not quite.” Suspicion clung stubbornly to him as he cast a gaze over the city. “Something's off. We need to be very careful.” He looked again at his passengers. No wonder the port master was surprised at them – redressed in the nice clothes they had at the witch's cottage, each looked like they came from a different corner of the world to converge on Kurogane's ship. And that wasn't far off from what happened. A little camouflage, Kurogane decided, would definitely help to draw attention away from them.

“Put on your ship clothes,” Kurogane said. Everyone – especially Mokona – started to protest. Kurogane held up a hand for silence.

“The way you look now, you'll stick out like a fox among chickens. Just put on your work clothes and we'll find something nicer in the city.”

“As the funder of this little expedition, I agree.” Fai smiled. “Besides, shopping is always fun.”

Kurogane waited while they all redressed in the extra clothes they had been wearing while on board. Yes, they were a little salt-worn and a bit smelly, and there was no helping the fact that they were all foreigners. But at least they looked like they were from this earth, in this century.

“One more thing.” Kurogane shook a finger at Mokona perched on Fai's shoulder. “You gotta stick to this guy like glue, got it? Nothing's stranger than a man without a daemon. So sit tight and act like a normal daemon.”

“Aye, aye, Cap'n Black!”

“That means no talking to anyone except Fai. And none of this.” Kurogane took off Mokona's straw hat.

Mokona wailed pitifully. “I want to be a fancy pirate!”

“You can be when we set sail again,” Fai said. He took the little hat from Kurogane and gently tucked it in his pocket. “For now, we need you to have another disguise – my daemon.”

“Just follow our lead,” Meiling said, a monkey on Syaoran's shoulder. “Do whatever I do.”

“Okay.” Mokona wiped away imaginary tears. She hugged Fai's head tight. “I can do that for you!”

Kurogane shook his head. He mentally added a few bottles of sake to the shopping list.

They left the Kirikuro and the port, Mokona waving enthusiastically at the port master when they passed him. For his part, he pretended not to notice them. Almost immediately upon setting foot on dry land, they were in the heart of the city.

Kurogane knew from experience that the small nation-city of Hana was flat until it hit the dormant volcano. Trails winded and twisted around the mountain for the locals to catch the odd squirrel and special herbs; but mostly, the citizens of Hana lived from the sea. Fish was caught and eaten and traded, seaweed was beaten and dried. As soon as they could walk, children were taught to swim, as even a toddler can wade in the tide pools to find seashells for decoration. 

Stalls were set up in front of and next to shops, vendors with their cat-eyed daemons hawking vegetables and fruit and spices. Kids ran up and down the streets, getting underfoot of men pulling carts and having an earful as punishment. Kurogane momentarily separated himself from their group to flag down a women with clothes that were clean and uniform, indicating that she probably worked for a rich house that would by new fabric on a regular basis. She directed him to a clothier's.

By the time Kurogane rejoined the group, Sakura and Syaoran were talking to other kids their age. A group of women had flocked around Fai gossiping about his yellow hair. Mokona was in his arms with both paws over her mouth, straining to stop from talking.

Kurogane stalked up behind the group of women. “Sorry to break up the party.” They jumped in surprise and a bit of guilt. Kurogane knew he had a nasty face when he was upset and he set it now on the women and the extra kids that had gathered. They all left, a couple of the girls giggling at him. Kurogane sighed. “Let's go. And remind me to get you a hat.” Kurogane said that last part to Fai.

As they walked to the shop the maid had told him about, Sakura skipped up to Kurogane. “We were talking to some of the locals. They said that there were special guests in the city.”

“Did they say who?”

“No. You scared them away before they finished talking.” She didn't seem upset about that, just her usually chipper self. With only Syaoran, Mokona and two older guys as companions since she arrived in this time, she was probably happy to talk to kids her own age. Kurogane felt a stab of guilt.

“Whoever they are, we should be careful to obey them and stay out of their way,” Sakura went on. “That's what the locals were saying.”

Obey and stay out of the way. Probably some snobby nobleman demanding the royal treatment from a small seaside city. However much of a jerk this guy was, it was probably still a good idea to stay out of his way. “Thanks for the info, Sakura.”

“Of course!” Sakura fell back to chat with Syaoran about the market.

In the clothier's, Fai, Sakura and Syaoran immediately fell over the beautiful patterns of the kimono. Mokona did her hardest to keep her mouth shut. Knowing they were sufficiently occupied, Kurogane slipped out to finish their other bit of business.

He went back into the market. He found a group of vendors socializing over a cup of dice and spoke loud enough to be heard by all of them. “I need a ship restocked. Several barrels of fresh water, dried vegetables and meat. Sake,” he remembered the last item on his mental list. “Lots of it.”

“You want some fish too?” one of the vendors called out. This earned a snicker from the group. 

“Not particularly,” Kurogane said. “We catch enough ourselves.”

“Good for you,” one of the vendors said sourly. She rolled out the dice. Two fours. Bad luck. Her cat daemon batted at them angrily. “We can't catch any.”

Kurogane frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Take a look, dear.” The neighbouring vendor was leaning on a barrel. “Not a fish in the whole damn market.”

Finally, Kurogane focused less on the people and the business of the market, instead taking a look at what was being sold. Vegetables, of course, and some fruit for those lucky enough to forage it. The stalls were empty of fish, crabs, mussels, seaweed, anything that came from the sea.

“Our nets dried up last week,” the woman with the cup said. She frowned over the dice. “We can barely survive off the mountain and our farms. We don't have enough to share with anyone else.”

“Bad business.” Yet another vendor shook his head mournfully. He seemed tired, down to the bone. “The sea's turned her back on us. We're bound to be invaded by Me or Shirasaki, weak as we are now. Amaterasu's already come with a force to see how easily we'll roll over.”

Akame twisted around Kurogane's arm in restless energy. She alternated between bearing her fangs and hiding them again. Kurogane asked, “Where is she?”

“At the castle.”

Kurogane was off. The castle was at the base of the volcano. He ran down streets in what he thought was the right direction. Fear and longing fought in his gut. Queen Amaterasu was here. Then Princess Tomoyo might also be... .

“Kurogane?”

Kurogane stopped short at the sound of the familiar voice. His heart beat in double-time and his muscles were on fire. Fai looked at him startled. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Kurogane wiped the back of his hand along his mouth, feeling Akame's fangs as his own. “Where are the kids?”

“We finished with the clothier. He's preparing our pieces. I told Syaoran and Sakura to play while we waited for you.” 

“That's fine.” Kurogane turned to go. Fai called out, “wait!”

“What?” The longer he stood here with Fai, the more fear was winning against longing. It didn't matter – Kurogane had already decided to find Amaterasu and a tsunami wouldn't stop him. 

Fai tucked Mokona into his jacket where she clung, pouting at Kurogane. No doubt still mad that he took her hat. 

“Where are you going?” Fai asked. 

“I heard there were royal guards here,” Kurogane replied, omitting the fact that the queen herself was also present. 

“You want to see them. What, are you looking for a fight?” Fai chuckled at his own joke. 

Kurogane bristled, less at the jab and more at the time he was losing by standing around talking. “You can do whatever you want for now. Once I have the supply situation figured out, I'll let you know.” That should satisfy him. Kurogane continued running down the road, leaving Fai and Mokona behind.

Or so he thought. As he turned the corner, Fai ran up next to him, keeping pace perfectly. “I can't leave a brute like yourself to his own devices,” Fai said, smiling.

“Idiot,” Kurogane muttered. 

It took a couple of dead ends, double-backs and Fai stopping to ask for directions while Kurogane stubbornly stood to the side, but they made it to the castle. Even from the outside, there was more activity than the castle of a city this size warranted. The city guard, supplying their own uniforms and rough weapons, were doubled up around the castle. Inside the grounds, Kurogane spotted stablehands tacking fine-looking horses in royal insignia. Bingo.

Fai shifted closer to Kurogane. “What's our plan?” he asked in a low voice.

“This.” Kurogane marched up to the four guards protecting the gate. “Let me in,” he said flatly.

“Look here, buddy,” one guard, probably the most senior, said tiredly. “We're real fucking busy today. So if you can lay off the bullshit, we'd all be better off.”

“Get one of the royal guards,” Kurogane said.

The city guard looked at his comrades in exhaustion. “This idiot just doesn't get it!” He walked up to Kurogane and trailed his spear under his nose. “We don't got time for this fuckery. Back off now, or I'll make ya.”

“Get a guard,” Kurogane said simply.

“That's it!” The guard swiped the spear at Kurogane, aiming for a shallow slash at his chest. Or tried to, at least. Kurogane neatly leaned back to avoid the spear tip, then snapped forward to grab the spear by the handle. He lifted it and the guard, then whipped it to the side to throw the guard off. 

Kurogane buried the spear tip in the dirt. He looked at the three remaining guards. “Get a royal guard.”

The three panicked. One of them fumbled for a whistle at his throat. He blew it loud and clear. 

Kurogane watched them panic, not moving until he heard the thump of boots.

“You idiots can't guard one single gate!” An imperial guard Kurogane recognized bellowed. Then he saw Kurogane and blanched.

“Take me to her,” Kurogane said.

The royal guard nodded and gulped. “Follow me.”

The gate was unlocked and Kurogane and Fai were led inside by the royal guard. Fai raised an eyebrow at Kurogane. “Impressive.”

“Old trick.”

The royal guard led them up the short drive, past the small gardens and into the castle. They stopped at a room with a bat hanging in the corner of the hallway, watching them. The royal guard and Kurogane lowered themselves onto one knee with their daemons next to them. Kurogane tugged on Fai's arm until he did the same.

The royal guard knocked on the ground. “Queen Amaterasu. Someone's here to see you.”

The door slid open and the bat-daemon's partner, Soma, was on the other side. Whatever reproach she had for the guard died on her lips when she saw Kurogane. “It can't be.”

“Who is it?” Queen Amaterasu's voice filtered out of the room, carried like the wind carries pollen. Kurogane had heard her yell orders on the battlefield, give orders in war rooms like this one. From her words, action grew.

Soma turned to respond. “It's Kurogane, my lady.”

A beat. “Send him in.”

Kurogane entered and bowed before Amaterasu, making sure Fai did the same. Amaterasu was sitting at the front of the room, a cup of clear liquid in front of her and her sword and wolf-daemon, Okami, next to her. Fine silver armour was sculpted over a beautiful white kimono with red starbursts. 

“Kurogane.” Her eyes were kind and voice was full of fondness. “You really shouldn't be here.”

Kurogane bowed his head lower.

“Do you want me to remove him after all?” Soma asked. The two of them had worked to protect the royal family from the time they were just teenagers. Kurogane knew exactly how strong Soma was, and he worried how he would fair in a fight against her without his sword.

“No. Even though it is forbidden, I am glad to see our dear Kurogane after all.” To some maids kneeling in the corner, she said, “Bring us more sake.” The maids rushed off.

The memory of them first meeting flooded Kurogane's mind. His mother had been struck by the same sickness as the rest of Suwa and his father, pale-faced, had sent Kurogane to the neighbouring land of Shirasaki to study with the royal family there. He was the same age as the younger princess, full of worry for his mother and resentment towards his father for sending him away.

Amaterasu saw the conflict within him. She and Soma trained with him, building on his mastery of the sword that his father gave him. She took his hate, regret and anger and made it into a sharp weapon.

It was the younger sister of the warrior princess, Tomoyo, who saw his sadness and offered her hand to Kurogane. From that point on, Kurogane wished to be worthy of her attentions. Obviously, he had failed. 

They way they were now, talking over drinks, was so like what Kurogane remembered, his heart ached with yearning to go back to those times. Kurogane's lack of sword and the new presence of Fai and Mokona destroyed the last bit of nostalgia. The tides were changing and Kurogane could never go back to how he was before.

“How is the Kirikuro fairing you?” Amaterasu asked.

Kurogane took a small sip of sake. It was from Shirasaki. He closed his eyes. “Fine. It's a good boat. Princess Tomoyo knew what she was doing.”

He didn't miss Amaterasu and Soma exchange glances. They should know Kurogane was too stubborn to give up a fight. 

Amaterasu placed a hand over her resting daemon's head. “You're taking well to the sea.”

About as well as a snake in water, slipping over the surface. “I'm staying afloat.”

“Tomoyo worries about you,” Amaterasu confided in a low voice. “Ever since she exiled you to the sea –”

Fai visibly piqued in interest.

“My lady,” Kurogane interrupted. He bowed his head in apology. “Why are you here?”

“Always so blunt.” Amaterasu paused, weighing her options. “A strange phenomenon is tormenting this land.”

“The sea,” Kurogane said.

“It's hiding its bounty from the citizens of Hana. The situation hasn't hit a crisis yet, and we're determined to prevent that from happening.”

Kurogane frowned. Whatever was going on, it certainly wouldn't warrant the Queen of Shirasaki, a powerful nation to the north, to involve herself with the going-ons of a small city-nation.

“Peace in Shirasaki is dependent on Hana's neutrality. By refusing to join with either Shirasaki or Me, Hana protects their border and our own. If she became unable to defend her borders...”

“Me would have a chance to invade,” Kurogane finished. He spoke this next part carefully. “So would Shirasaki.”

Amaterasu smiled warily. “I assure you we have no desire to conquer Hana. We maintain a friendly relationship. Why, they're housing us right now.”

Not willingly, Kurogane was sure. No doubt in some room of this castle where the lord had been forced to relocate, the man was sweating bullets and praying for Amaterasu to just leave. 

“We've brought them supplies,” Amaterasu said. “Enough to tide them over until this whole mess is sorted out, we hope.”

Kurogane perked up. “Any chance we can get some of that?”

Amaterasu pondered this. “If you're willing to work for it.”

Of course. Kurogane gritted his teeth. “Why do you need me?”

Amaterasu signalled to Soma who began speaking. “We've tried investigating, but people haven't been very co-operative.”

“I can't imagine that they would help out their conquerors,” Kurogane muttered.

If Soma did hear him, she ignored him. “They don't know that you're from Shirasaki. Keep that knowledge hidden. Find out what you can.” 

“What's your theory?” Fai asked, speaking up for the first time.

Amaterasu and Soma exchanged a glance that said much more than what they were about to. “It doesn't seem natural,” Amaterasu said. “The ocean dying like that.”

“Great.” Kurogane preferred problems that could be solved at the edge of his sword. Now he was off facing something supernatural naked.

“We'll try,” Fai said. “For the people of Hana.”

Amaterasu blinked at him. “I like the company you keep, Kurogane.”

“Don't let him trick you.” Kurogane stood up. He levelled a look at Fai. “He's not as noble as he seems.”

Fai stuck out his tongue.

They made their formal good-byes. Leaving the castle gave them a spectacular view of the sun setting over the ocean.

“Guess you won't get that fee back from the port master,” Fai said.

Kurogane snorted. This day was just getting worse and worse. He didn't have much hope for the night.

“Tell me.” Fai was slightly hesitant, none of his usual attempts for jovial teasing with Kurogane. He played with Mokona's ears with one hand and she preened. “How did a brute like you get an audience with a queen?”

Kurogane couldn't help the smile that rose to his face as he looked at the sleeping ocean. His smile wasn't from happiness – well maybe a bit, from fond memories squeezing their way to the surface. Sadness and nostalgia mingled below the surface with maybe a tinge of regret that Kurogane stubbornly anchored himself against.

“Since I was a boy, I worked with Soma to protect Queen Amaterasu and Princess Tomoyo,” he said, matching Fai's soft tone. “I was sent to live with them when my family, my entire nation, became sick.”

Fai's pale lips were pressed in a thin line. “The way you say your nation... you mean you're... ?”

“I'm a prince of nothing but corpses and ash now.” The corpse of his mother, with her long, beautiful hair. The skeleton of his father who used to carry Kurogane on his shoulders. Kurogane sighed. As the breath left him, so did some of the tension he'd been carrying with himself for years. It was a welcome surprise.

Mokona's ears dipped down so much they almost touched her feet. “Kurogane,” she said, voice watery.

“There's nothing I can do,” Kurogane said. He spotted the black sails of the Kirikuro in port. “Except to keep going forward. Speaking of... .” he took off down the path they had come up before. “Let's go.”

Fai jogged lightly to catch with him. He stopped Kurogane with a hand on his arm – not demanding, not intruding, just a question. Kurogane stared into his sea-blue eyes and knew instantly that Fai was like him, weathering a storm inside. Whether or not Fai was winning, Kurogane wasn't sure. 

“For what it's worth,” Fai said. “I'm sorry you had to go through so much pain.”

“I believe you.”

It was the wrong response. Kurogane wasn't talking about Fai's words, but the sentiment behind them. Fai, who fancied himself a master of trickery and lies, had shown a sliver of his true self to Kurogane on that dirt path in the evening light. Fai, clearly stunned stupid, let Kurogane go. He stayed a pace behind Kurogane for the rest of the journey.

They returned to the heart of the city to find the kids. By coincidence, they were heading in the same direction and Kurogane called out to them.

“We met a bunch of people,” Sakura gushed. “They showed us around town and promised that we could go see the tide pools tomorrow if we stayed.”

No matter how terrible a situation, kids would find a way to be kids. Kurogane found himself smiling. “Sounds like you worked up quite an appetite. Let's hit a restaurant and see what's on the menu.”

Not much, it turned out. After spending so long on a ship, Kurogane always went for hearty meals whenever he was land-side: salty unagi, the heady smell of okonomiyaki, a full pot of sukiyaki. Hana's misfortune with the sea certainly spread to its restaurants. The best they could get was cold soba and boiled eggs. Meat was an option, but at such an exorbitant price that even Kurogane, sick of salted fish and pickled vegetables, wouldn't pay. 

The umeshu was good though. Kurogane ordered another bottle and poured a glass full for everyone – even Mokona. He filled in the kids on their mission.

“We could go to another port, but I want to finish things here properly.” He looked around at them: Sakura flushed, Syaoran listening intently and Mokona ignoring them all in favour of what was in her glass. Fai propped his head up with a hand and watched fondly. “And I think you all feel the same.”

“Definitely.” Sakura nodded a little too enthusiastically. “I'd feel bad if we left them like this without even trying to solve the problem.”

“I don't know what we can do,” Syaoran said. “But I'm game to try.”

Kurogane turned to Fai. “It's your trip and your decision on whether or not we should stay.”

“Hmm.” Fai twirled his glass with his free hand, watching a droplet swirl around inside. “I say we stay. I'd like to learn more about this town. And more about you, Kuro-kuro.”

Kurogane flashed him a look that deflected completely off of Fai. His interest didn't seem artificially crafted, at least; and Kurogane liked seeing him with a spark of real passion.

They finished their meal and returned to the docks. With Fai and Mokona's encouragement, Sakura formed a mini kitty parade with Syaoran gamely participating and Kurogane studiously ignoring their antics. He left them as they returned to the Kirikuro, meowing the whole way and cheering themselves for it. Kurogane rapped on port master's door, unintentionally shaking the whole structure with it. He wondered if the port master would even be there.

He was, with a bottle clenched tightly in one fist. Kurogane passed him extra coin. “We'll be staying another day, at least.”

The port master shook his head. “Yah got two youths with yah, sah. Yah'd best to be on yer way.”

“They're fine with staying.” Kurogane was confused what Sakura and Syaoran had to do with anything. He held the coins out to the old man. “Take my money.”

The port master shook something fierce. He took a swig of the bottle and the shaking got worse. “As daft as the townsfolk,” he said into it. “There's a payment to be made. Her fees 're too great.”

“What are you talking about?” 

Akame said, “Look at his daemon.”

It took Kurogane a minute to find the daemon as it wasn't by the old man's side. He looked past the port master into the crude shelter. The weasel was on her back with paws pointed straight up in the air, a portrait of death. Kurogane felt the hairs on his body rise.

The port master wasn't finished with his harsh mutters. “First she sweeps the ocean for it, then she'll look to the forest. When she can't find it, yeh know what she'll take next.” The old man jabbed a finger into Kurogane's chest. The drink inside sloshed out, staining his shirt. 

“I don't.”

“She'll come for the child'n next.” The port master's shaking stopped and he stared at Kurogane with absolute clarity. “Yeh know it.”

Kurogane threw the coins into the room, startling the weasel and making the port master cackle with laughter. “Take your fee,” he muttered. He left the port master to his cackling and headed for the Kirikuro.

The ship seemed empty when Kurogane boarded. He spent a moment on the deck, surveying the city at night. Few lights lit windows as the city slept. The volcano rose as a leviathan, blocking the stars as it reached to the moon. The mouth of the volcano was dipped and the moon sat on it like a throne.

“Someone's there,” Akame said.

Kurogane squinted. He could see nothing.

When he dipped below deck, he heard Mokona's snoring. She was curled up with Sakura in a hammock over the barrels, both too tired to make it back to her room. Kurogane peaked in Syaoran's room to see him drooling on a pillow. Finally, he went back to his own room where Fai was lying with a lantern lit. 

“Long day,” Fai said softly.

“Tell me about it.” The port master's laughter, sharp as cracked wood stuck in him like a splinter under the skin. He splashed water on his face from the basin Fai had filled and changed into his bed clothes, hoping the ritual would prevent the haunted memory from following him into sleep. 

Akame immediately curled up on his pillow in her usual position, ready for bed. Kurogane was about to follow her when Fai spoke.

“I don't need to know the answer,” Fai said. “But what happened to change a ninja into a captain of an ink-black ship?”

Kurogane pondered this and how much he was willing to tell Fai who was slowly becoming less of a stranger and more of... something else. He had never uttered of what happened to him seven years ago and he found now that the truth had grown lonely inside of him.

“Maybe if he lost the favour of the princess, despite years of loyal service,” Kurogane murmured, letting his secret slip out like the quiet slash of a sword in the night. This is how he was used to wringing destruction – Softly, with single-minded purpose and no thought of survivors. “Maybe she sought to punish him by banishing him to the sea.”

“That seems awfully cruel,” Fai whispered back.

“The ninja was cruel, too. He kept killing even after the princess asked him to stop.”

“I suppose it's a fitting punishment.” Fai had turned in his bed so he was staring across the narrow space between their beds. Kurogane's face pressed into the pillow as he stared back. “There's no one to kill on the seas.”

“There's no one,” Kurogane echoed.

“And if that changed,” Fai asked, serious and soft, “would the captain become a ninja again?”

His years on the seas, Kurogane never had an opportunity to kill for someone or even to take his rage out on those around him. The Kirikuro was a special ship that could be operated with only one man. Did Princess Tomoyo want to remove all temptation? Did she actually think Kurogane couldn't control himself?

“I don't know,” Kurogane said honestly, bluntly, as he always was.

“It would be a waste,” Fai said, twisting and turning to get comfortable in bed. “To lose such a great captain. Princess Tomoyo sounds smart. She drowned out the fire in a man with an entire ocean.”

Kurogane thought about their conversation well into the night, until his thoughts turned from what Fai said to the man himself, breathing lightly in sleep so close to him. His breathing filled Kurogane's consciousness until he closed his eyes.

When Kurogane woke, his body immediately told him that it was late in the morning, far later than when he usually woke. He sprung out of bed, and it was only after he was standing that his head protested the rapid movement so soon after waking. 

A cloth had been stuffed over the small porthole to block the morning sun. Kurogane pulled it out, cursing the only man who could have put it there. 

“There's no crisis,” Akame grouched. Her voice was raspier after just waking. “Calm down.”

“I have to get ready.” Kurogane splashed his face with the same bowl of water. “I have to get breakfast ready and check on the ship and –” 

Kurogane exited onto the deck while pulling on a jacket, half expecting the ship to be on fire without his careful monitoring. He blinked in the sharp light. Syaoran was laying a table cloth over a table, struggling to hold it down while Meiling in her monkey form strategically placed bowls and glasses to stop the cloth from blowing away.

When Syaoran noticed Kurogane, he perked up. “Morning! Did you sleep well? Fai told us you got to bed late and to let you rest.”

“I'm fine.” Kurogane went forward and held down a wayward corner of the cloth until Meiling placed a jug of water on it. “What are you doing?”

Syaoran started placing chairs and stools around the table. “Setting the table. Sakura had a great idea that it would be nice to eat breakfast outside in the sun.”

“Where are Fai and Sakura?”

“They went to get breakfast.”

“You haven't eaten yet?”

“Porridge.” Syaoran's nose wrinkled. “Just enough so I wasn't hungry anymore. Since we're in port, it would be nice to have some of the local food, you know?”

“Right.” Kurogane looked around. The sails were tightly bound and water still glistened on the deck from its daily scrubbing. “You cleaned up.”

“Well, yeah. You taught us what to do, Kurogane. So we did it.”

Syaoran stood back to assess his work. Four chairs were placed around a fully laid table with enough room in between for daemons that might prefer to rest on the table. There was even a place set for Mokona. He fixed the placement of a spoon and smiled with pride. “Now all we need is food.”

“You did good, kid.” Kurogane relaxed into a chair. If he didn't have to spring to work right after waking, he was going to take the opportunity to rest.

“Thanks.” Syaoran sat opposite of him. Meiling climbed the back of his chair as a monkey, then turned into a sparrow and flew circles in the sky as they watched. “I don't have skills like you, Kurogane, and I don't have any magic like Sakura. I'm just doing what I can and hope that's enough.”

Kurogane thought about when he was Syaoran's age. He was pushed to work harder in his training from his desire to serve Princess Tomoyo. “Syaoran, do you have any fighting experience?” he asked, thinking back to his youth.

“What?” Syaoran blinked at him with wide eyes. “No. Well, I did karate from grade two to six.”

That was more than what Kurogane was expecting. He leaned forward eagerly. “Impressive. Karate is a useful skill. Who was your teacher?”

“I just went to a place on the corner of my street,” Syaoran said. “Sensei Doug taught the under-tens.”

“So Sensei Doug had many students.” Kurogane nodded. “He must have been a great teacher.”

“He was a lot of fun,” Syaoran agreed. “He let us break boards a year before the other class.”

“Why did you give it up?”

“My family moved. Plus, I had to focus more on school.” Syaoran's eyes trailed Meiling, strong and free in the sky. “But I wish I could have continued.”

“Hey, everyone!” Sakura's voice cut across their conversation. Kero joined Meiling in the sky and they tumbled over each other in greeting. Sakura's head popped into view over the gangway. “We bought buns!”

Syaoran hurried over to help her with her full bowl of soft buns and basket of fruits. Kurogane followed at a languid pace, observing the way Syaoran blushed and smiled when Sakura thanked him. He noticed Fai watching, too. Fai raised an eyebrow at Kurogane and smiled.

“Guess what? We stopped by the clothing shop and our outfits are done.” She gestured to the packages wrapped in paper that Fai held. “Let's wear them after breakfast!”

They set the food at the table, Sakura repeating the names of the dishes the cook had told her. “You're right,” she said to Kurogane, pointing at the white buns. “They do look like Mokona.”

“More like Mokona looks like the buns. I can't tell the difference.”

“Then Mokona will have to eat all the buns so silly Capt'n Black doesn't get confused!” Mokona happily exclaimed. It took Kurogane and Fai working together to stop her from shoving three buns in her mouth at once. 

The meal was delicious, though Kurogane couldn't help but notice that there wasn't any meat in the buns, as they were traditionally made. In fact, there was no meat in the meal at all. When he brought this up, Sakura looked downcast.

“I asked,” she said. “But they haven't caught any fish in months. I talked to a huntsman too, who said that he hadn't been able to catch anything all week.”

Kurogane and Fai exchanged a look. Now was the time to break the news to the kids. 

Fai told them about the oceans going empty and Amaterasu's involvement. He left out Kurogane's relationship to the queen. 

At the end of it, Sakura looked at the remnants of the food on her plate. “So we're taking from people who don't have enough for herself.”

Typical of Sakura to worry about the citizens of Hana than supplying their own food stores. “That's why we're going to stick around for a couple of days,” Kurogane said. “To figure out what the problem is and fix it.”

Syaoran was troubled. “Is this even something we can solve?”

“Yeah. There's something unusual at work here,” Kurogane said. “I can feel it.”

“There's that odd wind blowing,” Sakura mused.

“What do you mean, Sakura?” Syaoran asked. Then, his head whipped between Fai and Kurogane. “Or am I asking weird questions again?”

“I have no clue what she's talking about either,” Kurogane said.

Kero flew down from playing with Meiling to land on Sakura's head. He stomped his tiny leg. “Tell them what happened yesterday!”

“Oh!” Sakura blushed and buried her face in her hands. “I completely forgot to tell you!”

Fai propped up his head with a hand. “Adorable.”

“You can tell us now,” Syaoran said gently.

Sakura peaked between her fingers. “Last night when we were coming back to the Kirikuro, I felt a strange wind coming down from the top of the volcano.”

Kurogane, attuned to the nature of wind as any sailor is, leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “That is strange.”

Sakura's shyness disappeared now that she was getting to the meat of the problem. “Yeah! Since we've been here, the wind has been blowing in from the sea. It wasn't until the moon came out that the wind started blowing in the opposite direction, from the volcano. I could tell that it came from the very top because it carried a bit of heat and ash.”

Kurogane remembered the moon perched a top the volcano from the night before. It was all too perfect not to warrant investigation. 

He kept quiet until the end of the meal, not wanting to spoil the atmosphere of camaraderie a shared meal brings. After cleaning up, when the kids ran off to change into their new clothes, he pulled Fai aside for a moment. 

“We should let Amaterasu know about the volcano,” he said. “I can't put my finger on it, but I have a feeling that something's going on up there.”

Fai nodded. “I'll keep the kids entertained so you can meet with her.”

Kurogane was grateful that he could sneak off and have Fai cover him. They were all on the same team, but Kurogane was well aware of the age gap that split the group, of Sakura's playfulness and Syaoran's optimism. He didn't want to be the one to bring them down. 

The sun was at its apex by the time Kurogane left the Kirikuro. No new trading vessels had come in or out and the tide clunked the empty fishing boats against the docks. The port master was no where to be seen. Kurogane paused at his shabby office and listened at the door. The sound of harsh breathing weaved through the gaps in the wood. Probably still sleeping off the previous night. Kurogane moved on into the city.

The guards must have been given special orders, because he met none of the resistance of yesterday. A royal guard was immediately sent for, and it was Soma herself who appeared to escort him. Her daemon, Zubatto, fluttered between rafters and tree branches ahead of her.

“Kurogane,” she said grimly. “I'm glad to see you.”

She didn't look it. Kurogane had seen her after all-night missions and could read the signs: her hair had been combed with her hands, her weapons hadn't yet been resupplied and her lovely face was missing its usual glow. Kurogane had worked with her long enough to know that he shouldn't draw attention to it. 

His entrance interrupted a meeting with Amaterasu's captains in her war room. They were completely nonplussed when they saw Kurogane and he guessed that they had been informed of his presence in the city. Amaterasu never refused information to her commanding officers that was vital for a mission. Kurogane worried anew at the role he was meant to play in all this.

She greeted him, not holding back her weariness. The captains had created a circle and Amaterasu still sat at the head. Soma sat where she usually did, to Amaterasu's left. Kurogane automatically sat in his usual spot at her right and paused. Neither of the woman notice and Amaterasu started speaking.

“Please tell me you discovered a clue,” she said. She reached for her tea. Soma nudged the plate of anko-filled daifuku closer to her queen. “We've had nothing but bad luck.”

Kurogane told her about the change in wind under the full moon, which led him to explain who Sakura was, which tied back to Fai and Syaoran, which forced him to reveal their rainy meeting at the witch's cottage. 

By the end of it, Kurogane was quite parched. Amaterasu ordered another round of tea, clearly giving herself time to think. Soma's mouth hung in a perfect O, a rare break in professionalism. 

“You certainly do keep odd company,” Amaterasu finally said after the servants had come to lay a fresh tea set and left again. She looked into the steaming cup and murmured, “this witch... .”

“They're an odd bunch,” Kurogane agreed fondly.

“What you told us corresponds with another clue we found.” Soma hesitated and waited for Amaterasu's nod to continue. “There's a rumour around town about a huntsman who went into the forest. All of his traps were empty, but found animal tracks.”

“What kind of animal?”

“That's where the rumour starts to break down. We've heard stories of the animal being a tiger, a wolf, even a leopard.” Soma shook her head. “None of these animals are normally found in the forest of Hana, of course.”

“Four legs and claws,” Kurogane mused. He stared at Okami laying with paws outstretched. “It could just be a really big wild dog or fox.”

“Probably not,” Soma said. “Because of the spreading sickness.”

“Sickness? What the hell are you talking about?”

Soma stopped immediately. The atmosphere shifted so fast, Kurogane was thrown. He realized then that they had dissolved into an old familiarity, old habits, old knowledge of each other. Old friends. When he asked that question, the intimacy broke and he was staunchly made aware of being an outcast among nobility.

Amaterasu and Soma seemed to hold an entire conversation between themselves without speaking. Amaterasu finally broke at Soma's open, pleading face. She breathed deep, preparing herself.

“Kurogane, you're too young to remember,” Amaterasu said slowly. “I'm only a few years older than you, but I read the histories. What's happening here in Hana is similar to what happened in Suwa all those years ago.”

Her words plunged into Kurogane. “What do you mean?” he asked, too gruff and too distraught to care.

“I'm so sorry.” Amaterasu's face softened with pity.

Kurogane ignored it. “Tell me, what do you mean?”

Amaterasu was no stranger to Kurogane's way of ignoring pain. She went on. “The sickness in Suwa started in its forests. The fish disappeared from the rivers and traps went empty for weeks on end. Then on farms, the animals stopped producing and the dirt turned to dust. That's when the sickness spread to the people, taking the children first.”

“I survived.”

“Your parents recognized what was going on. They sent you away so that you might survive. And they were right,” Amaterasu said. “You were a prince who had to be saved.”

A prince of corpses and ash. Kurogane's words to Fai slammed into him. He clenched his fists against the ground. He wanted him there, now. Someone who he could count to be on his side.

“We need you to go to the volcano,” Amaterasu said.

“I can't.”

“Neither can we. Last night, some of the cityfolk had too much to drink. They threw garbage at my guards and yelled profanities.”

Kurogane looked at Soma astonished. “They threw stuff at you?”

“They didn't hit me,” Soma said, because of course she dodged it. “The royal guards are well-trained and didn't fight back. But I doubt we'll be able to move around easily.”

So that explained the meeting with the captains that Kurogane interrupted. Amaterasu was truthful when she said that her force hadn't come to invade Hana. How long that would last with a violent population, Kurogane didn't know. 

“I'll only go with a weapon,” he said. 

“Tomoyo took your sword for a reason,” Amaterasu said immediately. “It would be a betrayal against her to give it back.”

“So you have it,” Kurogane breathed. He felt a longing that went deeper than his fond memories of Suwa and Shirasaki. Ginryuu was his father's sword, given to him along with news of his parents' deaths. He had used it to defend Amaterasu and Tomoyo countless times. The blood he harvested with Ginryuu had changed the blade a deep black. It was apart of him, as much as Akame. 

“I cannot give it to you,” Amaterasu repeated sternly.

Kurogane shook his head, trying to focus on what was going on in the present. “Any weapon, then. You said yourself that there's something supernatural going on. I need to defend myself.” And the others travelling with him.

Amaterasu considered what he said for a moment. Her lips curled upwards. “Fair point. Soma, the seal.”

Soma produced a intricately detailed coral seal with trailing tassel. “Leave this with whoever you buy a weapon from with instructions to return it to a royal guard for their fee.”

Kurogane stored the seal in his pocket. He bowed again and stood up to leave. He paused at the door. “Thanks for telling me the truth.” He left without waiting for a response.

Although it would be faster to reach the top of the volcano by continuing on the path into the forest, Kurogane wasn't lying when he said he needed a weapon. At the very least, a blade might dull this odd feeling that had him on edge since last sunset.

He went back into the city, keeping his eyes peeled for Fai and the kids. He met them passing by a dango shop. 

“Kurogane!” Sakura waved him down. “Have you ever tried this before? It's tasty!”

“Really good,” Fai agreed. He was holding a stick with one remaining dango. Mokona was on his shoulder, eying the dango. Kurogane swooped down and pulled the dango off. It was stick and sweet and absolutely delicious. 

“Thief!” Fai gasped.

“It's your own fault for not saving any for me,” Kurogane said around the mushed up dango in his mouth. He swallowed roughly. “That meat bun better not have eaten any in public.”

Mokona sadly patted her tummy. “Mokona is starving! I bet that makes Capt'n Black happy, he's so mean.” 

“You're a faithful first mate,” Kurogane said.

Fai raised his eyebrows. “What has you in a good mood?”

“I'm going to buy a sword.”

Syaoran perked up at that, as Kurogane knew he would. He had been nursing his dango, taking long, slow chews like he was trying to memorize the flavour. He swallowed his bite now. “Where are you going to get a sword?”

Kurogane gestured in a general direction down the street. “I noticed a weapons shop when we first got here.”

“Of course you did,” Fai said.

Kurogane ignored him. “It's not uncommon for a port city like this to have a place that buys and sells weapons sailors trade in. We can take a look and see if they have what we need.”

“'We'?” Syaoran said. He had that wide-eyed look he had whenever he encountered something new, trying to suck in all the details at once. 

“I'm getting you a sword, too.” The idea had formed in Kurogane over their week of travel and just now broke to the surface of Kurogane's thoughts. It made sense – Syaoran was careful and respectful, eager to learn new things and to protect the ones he loved. Kurogane saw Sakura watching them from the corner of his eye. You don't become a man until you find someone to fight for.

“Don't just stand there,” Kurogane said to Syaoran's stunned expression. “We have work to do.”

Syaoran followed Kurogane down the street like a duckling following its mother. He followed Kurogane as he turned into the wrong alley, then as he corrected himself and finally found the weapons shop. 

Filtered light through the paper panels of the door tried their best, but the far half of the shop was shrouded in darkness. Kurogane sat on the wood floor, Syaoran copying him without question. Kurogane rapped his knuckles against the floor. “Yo! You got customers!”

There was movement in the back, in the darkness. Kurogane relied on Akame's eyes to see the shadows moving against each other. 

A wizened old man burdened under layers of mismatching kimonos snailed out from the back, moving at the same speed as his tortoise daemon. He sat down with a loud huff of exhaustion. Only then did he seem to notice the two customers waiting in his reception room. 

He evaluated them from under large, feathery white eyebrows. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly clear, free of the age that sagged his face. “I heard ya tossing up a storm. Whaddaya want?”

Kurogane crossed his arms. “This is a weapons shop, ain't it? We're looking for swords.”

“Yeah?” The old man said. “What're ya looking to kill?”

“Nothing,” Kurogane bristled under the old man's steady stare. “I'm an expert swordsman and I'm going to teach the kid here.”

Syaoran gave a little wave. “Hi.”

The old man barely spared him a glance. Meiling sniffed at that. She started scrapping a long fingernail against a floorboard, digging at the soft wood.

“People only want weapons because they're afraid,” the old man said.

“I'm not afraid,” Kurogane said automatically. Akame nudged at the back of his neck as she moved across his shoulders and Kurogane thought twice. He wasn't a liar and he didn't intend to start now.

“There's something threatening this city,” Kurogane said slowly, tracing his thoughts to the core of his feelings. “And while we're here, I'm afraid that it'll hurt others.”

The old man listening, unblinking. He nodded in satisfaction at Kurogane's answer. “A sword's only purpose is to kill. When you deal in weapons like I do, you have to be cautious. Say I sell a man a sword and he kills his wife's lover. Aren't I also responsible for her death?”

“I never thought of it like that before.” Kurogane cast his mind back to Princess Tomoyo sitting on her throne, her lovely face twisted in sorrow and disappointment at Kurogane covered in blood. Was there also guilt on her face that he couldn't see?

“But you're here to hunt a beast,” the old man continued. “To protect the ones you love. I can help with that.” With a drawn-out grunt, he got to his feet. He and his tortoise-daemon shuffled to the back of the shop, out of sight.

“Kurogane,” Syaoran said, snapping Kurogane out of his reverie. Syaoran looked like he was about to say something, then something else. 

“Save it, kid,” Kurogane said gruffly. 

Syaoran nodded. He took a moment to collect himself. He turned back to Kurogane, the sympathy almost completely gone from his face. “He said you were going to slay a beast.”

“Right.” There was also that rumour of pawprints in the forest. “It sounds like the people of Hana know more than they're willing to say. Let's not talk anymore about it here,” Kurogane added as the old man returned.

He was even slower weighed down by a collection of swords. He waited for his daemon to slowly drag out a cloth of silk to place the swords on them. 

There were four in total, each different from each other. But Kurogane was immediately drawn to the one in the left-middle. It was a katana about the same length in both blade and hilt as Ginryuu. Kurogane reached to inspect it.

“Souhi,” the old man said. “The Soother. It calms an angry spirit and shocks a sheltered soul. Legend says that it was born where sky kissed sea.”

Kurogane knew there was more to swords than just a sharp blade and he felt that with Souhi. His and Akame's red eyes were reflected in the silver blade. He snapped the sword back into its scabbard, a deep blue reminiscent of a certain someone. “I'll take it.”

“Good.” For the first time that visit, the old man turned his attention to Syaoran. “And for you?”

“These are all good swords,” Kurogane said, able to recognize fine craftsman ship from their construction. “Pick one that resonates with you.”

Syaoran studied the swords for a long time. He ran a finger down the dull side of the blade, wrapped his hand around the hilt, noted the detailing on the scabbard. He shook his head. “I don't know.”

Meiling moved forward on all fours. “Syaoran, for all your smarts you can be kinda dumb sometimes.” She picked up a sword and dragged it to him. “Here.”

She had picked a Xin-style sword. Syaoran closed his hand around the honeycomb-printed hilt and pulled the sword from its scabbard. 

“Double-edged,” Kurogane said. “You'll have to be careful with that.”

Syaoran looked down the blade uneasily. “Why did you pick this, Meiling?”

Meiling curled her fingers around the tassel streaming from the end of the hilt. “It's pretty.”

“Daemons know more about ourselves than we do sometimes,” the old man said. “I would listen to her.”

Syaoran sheathed the sword. “Okay.” He didn't look convinced.

Kurogane handed off the seal Soma gave him. “Return this to Queen Amaterasu's guard for payment.”

“You're not with them,” the old man said, his eyes glittering under his massive brows. 

“No. Not anymore.” Kurogane left the shop with his sword, Syaoran in tow. 

As soon as they stepped into the daylight, Kurogane stopped Syaoran and asked for his sword. Syaoran gave it up willingly. 

“Like the old man said, this is a weapon.” Kurogane twisted the strip of leather that made up the belt around the hilt of the sword. “It's yours now and that means it's your responsibility to take care of the sword to make sure it doesn't hurt anyone.” He knotted the leather and tested it. The sword wouldn't budge from its scabbard. “Only draw it when you need it to protect someone.”

Syaoran accepted the sword back, relief on his face at what Kurogane had done. “Right.”

“Now go find Sakura and Fai. I'm going up to the volcano by myself.”

Syaoran started to protest and Kurogane held a hand up. “There's something dangerous up there. I won't have you risking your life.”

“What about you?”

Kurogane tied his new sword around his waist. The weight felt familiar and good. “I'll be just fine.”

They separated, Kurogane heading uphill and Syaoran returning to the city. He made it to the castle without any issue, then continued up a path that looked like it squirrelled into the forest. 

It didn't. He returned to the castle, grumbling about dead ends and thorny bushes. He was getting his bearings when Fai appeared with Mokona on his shoulder. 

“There you are! Syaoran said you were going up to the volcano by yourself. We can't have our captain getting lost, so I came to help you out.” Fai noticed the state Kurogane was in. “What's that?”

Kurogane picked the last of the burrs off the bottom of his hakama. “Nothing. You don't even have a weapon, idiot.”

“I don't need a weapon when I have a big, burly brute to defend me,” Fai teased. 

“I ain't protecting you. Stay with the kids.” Kurogane headed down another path.

“You're going the wrong way,” Fai called after him.

Kurogane stopped. “Yeah? How do you know?”

Fai gave him an exasperated look. “I asked the cityfolk for directions.”

Kurogane felt his face go red. “Fine. You lead.”

“With pleasure.” Fai led them to a path that dipped down along the slope of the volcano before curling upwards to the heart of the forest. The air was cooler here, with trees for shade and the wind from the ocean less humid at a higher altitude.

“It's quiet,” Fai commented. “No birds.”

“No nothing,” said Kurogane, who had been keeping an eye in the trees and on the ground for any sign of life.

“Scary,” Mokona said and retreated into Fai's kimono.

Reaching the summit was a long, hard walk that had them both sweating by the end. They collected their breath as they looked out at the view, Hana sprawled at the foot of the ocean like children's toys. When they were ready, they circled around the treeline edging the top of the volcano, keeping their eyes peeled. 

Kurogane didn't know what he was looking for, but he didn't find it. They did a full circle and returned back where they started. 

Fai frowned at him. “I don't know what I was expecting, but... it wasn't this.”

Kurogane shook his head angrily. “I don't get it. What are we missing?”

“There is one place we haven't checked yet.” Fai pointed up, to the mouth of the volcano.

Kurogane swallowed. He nodded.

Getting to the top involved actually climbing the slope. Kurogane was athletic enough that he wasn't worried about his own abilities. He checked behind him to see Fai navigating similarly unbothered. The man was full of surprises. 

A lip several feet long ran around the mouth of the volcano, flat enough that Kurogane could stand up. He made sure Fai and Mokona were also safe before walking to the opposite end and peering over the chasm. 

It was a long, long, long way down. At the very bottom, red magma stirred, winking up at him. 

“Is this how a volcano's supposed to look?” he asked Fai who had appeared next to him.

“I think so,” Fai murmured. “Like a red sea.”

Mokona poked her head out. “Yuuko's seen a volcano before. She says it's normal.”

“What, can you talk to her or something?”

“Of course! Yuuko sees what Mokona sees. She's been watching over us this entire time.”

“Great,” Kurogane said, not wanting that witch to know anything about him. He gladly left the volcano and started the long trip back to the city. They hadn't found anything and Kurogane was more frustrated than when they started.

“We tried,” Fai said.

“Yeah.”

“Hey,” Fai said and he slowed their walk. “We'll try again. This isn't over.”

“I know that,” Kurogane said. They were in the heart of the city now and people pushed around them, getting on with their lives. “But how long do we have?”

Fai pursed his lips. 

“Mokona has faith in Captain Black! He'll save us all for sure.”

“Thanks, meat bun.” Kurogane shook his head. There was too much sound and activity around them. He needed to think. “Let's go back to the Kirikuro.”

The docks were as devoid of life as the mountains except for the port master who spat as they walked by. “Black luck,” he muttered under his breath.

Fai frowned. “He's friendly.”

“Ignore him,” Kurogane said, trying to do the same. “He got real drunk last night and started blaming me for the misfortune of Hana.”

“But Hana's been dying since before we got here,” Fai mused. “The people here seem to know more than they're letting on.”

“I thought the same thing,” Kurogane said. They ascended the gangplank up the black ship. “Last night, the villagers were harassing Amaterasu's guard and ... .” He stopped.

“Kurogane?” Fai stopped as well. “What's wrong?”

“Last night,” Kurogane repeated. “The people became hostile during the night. Not from anger.” Kurogane replayed the scene with the drunk port master in his mind. He imaged Soma and her guards' encounter with the villagers. “They're defensive.”

“Maybe they did something last night?” Fai curled a finger under his chin. “Sakura did say that there was a change in wind during the night.”

Akame said, “Someone was on the volcano last night.”

“The citizens could be working together. They're doing something weird during the night at the top of the volcano,” Kurogane said.

“But why would they?” Fai asked. “Whatever is happening, it's hurting Hana. Why would Hana's own people try to destroy the sea and land?”

“Good question,” Kurogane said, remembering that the sickness had plagued his own land. No one in Suwa would have been evil enough to bring that kind of darkness upon them. Even as a kid, he knew that. “Either way, we'll find out the answer tonight.”

“We're going to party again tonight!” Mokona cheered.

“No.” Kurogane smiled at the thought of this all being resolved. “A different kind of party.”

“What's the plan?” Fai asked.

“At sunset, I'll climb the volcano again. Then I'll face whatever's up there in the moonlight. For now, I'll rest.”

“We'll rest,” Fai clarified. “I'm going with you again. We can't risk our big, strong captain getting lost.”

“Yeah?” Fai had been able to keep up with him. There was a lot of potential Fai was keeping hidden. Besides, Kurogane was confident in his ability to protect the both of them if it came to it. “Then we should both rest.”

They headed below decks to the captain's quarters. Kurogane laid down on the bed with Akame coiled next to him, knowing that even if he didn't sleep, just closing his eyes and putting his mind at ease would help him recuperate. 

Of course, Fai was here. And he didn't seem content to try to sleep just yet.

Instead, he refilled the water and started bathing. The sounds of water hitting water filled the small cabin.

“Can you do that quieter?” Kurogane groaned. 

“Sorry, Captain Black,” Fai said. “There's ash in my hair and it's bothering me.”

Kurogane peeked open an eye. Fai pushed off the sleeves of his kimono so that he was bare to the waist. Water dripped off his wet hair onto his skin, sliding all the way down the planes of his back. 

Fai combed through his hair with one hand and tossed his head back to laugh. “Maybe I should leave it in so I can be dark-haired like you.”

“I like your hair,” Kurogane murmured. He didn't realize that he had said it out loud until Fai turned, wide-eyed. 

“It's pretty,” Kurogane flustered, trying to explain. “Like starlight.”

A corner of Fai's mouth curled up.

Kurogane rolled over so Fai couldn't see his face. “Just finish up!”

Fai went back to work on cleaning his hair. Akame slithered to the end of the bed and relayed all she was seeing to Kurogane. Even after Fai had finished and went to his bed for a nap, Kurogane was still curled around his bundle of blankets, too stirred up to rest.

Mokona, Meiling and Kero disturbed them at sunset, knocking against the door and giggling. Fai groaned quietly and opened the door.

“Good morning,” he said. “Or afternoon, I guess.” 

“Sorry to bug you!” Sakura was so excited, she could barely contain herself. “Syaoran and I had an idea!”

“Remember how Sakura said that she sensed the wind change during the night?” Syaoran said. “Well, we were talking to the kids we met yesterday. We think that whatever's causing the problem only comes out at night!”

Fai shot Kurogane an amused glance.

“Good thinking.” Kurogane heaved himself out of bed. He was sleepy, but his body wasn't sore from their earlier hike. “We'll go to the volcano tonight and see if there's anything there.”

Sakura and Syaoran shared smiles. Mokona was kind enough to keep her mouth shut about the journey they already went on.

“Can we come?” Sakura asked. “I don't want to be separated.”

“That's kind,” Fai said. “But, no.”

Kero flew over to Sakura and she held him tight. “What if something happens to you?”

“We'll be okay,” Kurogane said. Sakura still looked unsure, so he said. “I promise we'll come back.”

“You and Syaoran will have to watch over the Kirikuro while we're gone,” Fai said. “We can't lose our ship or we'll be stuck here.”

Sakura nodded. “I guess.”

“We brought food, too,” Syaoran said. “We didn't think that you ate dinner yet.”

They ate together again at the table that had been brought out that morning. To one side of the ship, the lights of Hana slowly flicked off. On the other side, the black ocean mirrored the night sky, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

“We should get going,” Kurogane said.

Fai nodded. “Thanks,” he said to the kids. “Be safe.”

“You don't need to worry about us!” Mokona said cheerfully, her cheeks stuffed full of tofu.

Kurogane looked to Syaoran. He held his new sword in one fist. “Don't use it yet,” Kurogane said. “If you draw a sword without experience, you might cut the person you're trying to protect.”

“I know,” Syaoran said. “I won't risk it.”

Fai took a lantern and with a last round of good-byes, they left the ship for the volcano.

The streets were empty. Not unusual for this time of night, but it conflicted with their theory of the villagers helping. Wouldn't they be on the watch for suspicious activity? Not if they were hiding from whatever was causing the sickness, Kurogane concluded. 

The moon was full and bright in the night sky. As they climbed the path up the mountain, it felt like they were ascending to the moon itself, far away from any place Kurogane knew as home.

The edge of the forest looked the same as it had in daylight, except washed in greys and blacks. Akame quickly moved into her usual battle position around Kurogane's neck. “Someone's here.”

“Where?” Kurogane couldn't make out fine details in the near-darkness and nothing looked suspicious to him. To Fai, he said, “Something's up.”

“Up there,” Akame answered. Kurogane looked up and gasped. 

Silhouetted against the moon, a beast proudly stood on the lip of the volcano, evaluating its surroundings. It very much resembled a wolf, with moonlight fur that moved in the breeze. A crescent medallion floated between its erect ears like a crown. Kurogane had accidentally gotten its attention, and it looked at him with the kind of intelligence that only a daemon could have. 

“Where is he?” she asked. Her mouth never moved, but Kurogane heard her voice as plain as any human's.

Kurogane knew now was the time to draw his blade. He spoke to cover the whisper of removing Souhi from its scabbard. “Who the hell are you talking about?” 

“My partner,” she said. “He died many years ago. I'm searching for him.”

“If your partner died, you should be dead, too,” Fai said. 

“No!” She bristled. Her fur stood on end. “I will stay alive and I will find him!”

“She's gone crazy,” Akame whispered, fascinated and terrified.

“How is she still alive?” Kurogane asked back.

Fai answered. “Her life isn't paired up with her partner's anymore. Instead, she must be taking the lives of animals in the area to extend her own lifespan.”

“How could you possibly know that!”

Fai never took his eyes off of her. “I've seen it happen before.”

Kurogane gritted his teeth. This entire situation was messed up. “Daemon, is that true?”

“I will do whatever necessary to keep myself alive until I find him again,” she said. 

“If you're the one causing the sickness in Hana, there's only one thing I can do.” Kurogane pointed his blade at her. “Sorry.”

“You humans took him from me once. I won't let you separate us any further!” She bared her fangs and ran down the slope at them. 

Fai dodged and Kurogane ran to cover him. He met her fangs with his blade and barely held her off. She gnarled and snapped at him and he twisted Souhi to constantly tangle in her teeth, never giving her a clear chance to bite. Any cuts he managed to get in healed before his eyes. She was more than daemon – she had evolved into something completely different. Kurogane wouldn't have a chance if he couldn't injure her. 

Teeth failing, she lifted a mighty claw to swat at him. A large stone hit her in the middle of the claw and she reflexively flinched at the sensitivity. Fai was to the side, another stone ready in his hand. 

Kurogane used the chance to dart back. “Run for higher ground!” he shouted at Fai.

Fai did as he was told and they both scrambled up the incline to the mouth of the volcano. She followed, snapping at their heels as they alternated attacking her to give the other time to climb. Inch by inch, they arrived at the plateau. 

“Now what?” Fai asked, gasping for breath. She was at the bottom, backing up to take a run at the incline and climb it in a few looping movements. 

Kurogane checked around, also breathless. He had chosen a higher ground to give them an advantage, knowing that they would have the deadly drop into magma at their backs. It was a gamble. The best chance they had would be when she ran up.

“When she comes up, her momentum is going to be off,” Kurogane said. “That's our only chance.”

Fai nodded. He checked over the lip and ran back. “She's starting!”

The daemon let out a yell, more suited to a human's war cry than anything an animal could produce. Her claws made a clacking sound as they dug into the rock to help propel her forward, faster. Another click of her claws against the rock, then she was in view, airborne from her last jump.

“Now!” 

Fai threw stones, another distraction. They hit in her face and she contorted in the air. Kurogane thrust Souhi up and into her belly, slicing the length of it. 

She landed on her back, tumbling to a stop at the edge of the chasm. For a moment, Kurogane thought they had done the impossible and won. 

Miraculously, she got to her feet, shakily at first, but sturdy once her fourth leg was securely underneath her. The blood from her belly had gone from gushing to a small drip.

“She's been leeching the life off of others for years,” Fai said. “It'll take more than one good hit.”

“Shit.” Kurogane held Souhi to the ready again. He furiously thought of another plan of attack. “That one hit was all we're going to get.”

“Throw me your scabbard,” Fai said. “I need a weapon.”

Kurogane watched the daemon as she shook herself off. “It's not going to be much use.”

“Just do it.”

One-handed, Kurogane loosened the tight knot of the scabbard. As soon as he had it loose, the daemon attacked. Kurogane threw the scabbard to Fai as he intercepted her attack. 

She was back to biting again. Kurogane let Souhi absorb the blow, then he jammed his foot onto her front paw. He completed his swing and his sword sliced through her jaw. 

A howl of pain lit up the dark. “You do not dare!” As Kurogane recovered his footing, she swiped at him and sent him rolling over the plateau. 

She was on him in a second, pining him to the ground. He couldn't move, not even to swing Souhi. His empty arm dangled over the precipice and he felt the hot air from the volcano on his skin. 

Drool mixed with blood as she stood over him, snarling. Her muzzle contorted until it was like Souhi had never pierced her. 

“You son-of-a-bitch!” Kurogane snarled back. “How many lives did you steal to be able to do that!”

“You would never understand,” she said to him, teeth bared. “The pain of being separated from your partner!” She lowered her teeth to his neck where Akame was. “Maybe I should teach you!”

He felt her hot breath on Akame's scales, felt Akame hiss and try to shrink away from her. Akame was never taught to fight – that was his job in their partnership. He was responsible for both their lives. Kurogane yelled fruitlessly. He couldn't move to save her.

A second after her tongue touched Akame's scales, a second before her teeth would close around Akame's body, she fell over. Souhi's scabbard was between them. Fai was using it as a lever to heave her off. 

The moonlight danced fiercely in Fai's eyes as he gritted his teeth against his task. “Don't you dare hurt either of them!”

One final push by Fai had the daemon flip onto her side. But there was no ground there, just the straight drop into the heart of the volcano. She screamed as she fell, a cry of pain and hate and despair that cut through Kurogane.

Immediately, Fai had his hands on Kurogane, pulling him away from the chasm. Kurogane half-sat up, leaning against Fai's chest with his arm around him, dazed. 

Smoke rose from the volcano to form a thick cloud that took shape before their eyes. The daemon was there, as light and silvery as a moonbeam. 

“I'm truly sorry,” she said. “For the pain I've caused.” She pointed her muzzle up to the sky. Her form changed again and she became a streak of light, running to the moon.

“Where's she going?” Kurogane asked.

“To wherever he is,” Fai answered firmly. “She won't be back again.”

He gently lay Kurogane down and started checking him over. “How do you feel?”

“Alright,” Kurogane said softly. He would have bruises, but he also had all of his limbs and no serious injuries. That was a victory in his books.

Fai hovered a hand over Akame, knowing it wasn't his place to touch her. “And she's... ?”

Kurogane closed his own hand over Akame. “Also fine.”

“I'm scared out of my fucking mind,” Akame said. “Kurogane, that was close.”

“I know,” Kurogane said. “Let's go back and leave this all behind.”

Fai retrieved the scabbard and watched as Kurogane reattached Souhi to his belt. With his hands free, he cupped them around Akame's small snake head. “Sure you're alright?”

Akame left herself be nuzzled and did the same back to Kurogane's fingers. “Yes. Thank god he was here.”

Kurogane raised his eyes to Fai. “I can't thank you enough.”

Fai tried a smile that even he couldn't manage to make real. “Don't thank me. I'm the reason we arrived at Hana in the first place.”

“Still. I'll never forget this.”

“Kurogane, I –”

“Just say 'thank you', dummy,” Akame said.

Fai blinked, surprised that she addressed him directly. “Thank you.”

They went down the path much, much more slowly than they had going up. By the time they arrived at the bottom, a fiery sun was rising. So were the citizens, awake and riled up.

They walked into what was essentially a mob that had been gathered outside the castle gates for quite some time. The lord of the land had finally made an appearance, trying feebly to placate the masses. 

“Yah there!”

Kurogane cursed his luck. The port master had pointed them out with an unsteady finger that indicated he still might be drunk. His ferret daemon was there too, whispering with the daemons of the other citizens.

“This is all yah fault, sah!” The port master went on. He got right under Kurogane's nose. Kurogane pushed him back a few feet.

“Did yah see that!” The port master yelled at the crowd. “'e's a brute!”

“Now that's not right,” Fai said. “You don't get to call him a brute unless he makes you practice half hitch knots for an hour in the sun as punishment.”

“I didn't do anything to you you weren't asking for,” Kurogane said. 

“'e's the one who killed the wolf las' night! Sent it running up to the sky!” The port master cried out, clutching at members of the crowd. “I saw 'im leave 'is boat las' night and head into the city!”

Murmurs stirred the crowd. Kurogane tried to pick out a few recognizable faces and saw some of the vendors he had spoken to. They weren't happy to see him either.

“So what?” Kurogane said. He pointed to the volcano. “That wolf up there was eating your city alive! She started with the sea, then moved to the forest. She would have gone after you next!”

“No, it wouldn't have!” Kurogane recognized the woman who ran the dango stand. She was flushed with excessive energy that made her wring her apron. “As long as we left it alone, it would have left us alone. Now you bothered it and it'll come back to ruin us all and –” She buried her face in her hands and started crying. The crowd started to get angrier and began yelling at Kurogane and Fai.

Kurogane couldn't believe what he was seeing. “We saved you!”

“That wolf is going to come back to eat us next!” a man cried out. “Then Shirasaki will finish us off!”

“They're not as interested in you as you think,” Fai said. 

“You're working for them!” A woman cried out. “You're Shirasaki soldiers in disguise!”

Kurogane couldn't give a solid 'no' to that statement, so he choose to shut up instead. Dealing with people without using his sword wasn't his strong point. If this crowd became hostile towards him or Fai, he wouldn't have a choice – he would have to hurt them. 

“There's got to be someway to quiet them,” he said to Fai. 

Fai shrugged helplessly. “Can we run?”

Kurogane searched around for a good escape route that would lead to the Kirikuro. That's when he noticed a bat hanging in a tree in the castle courtyard. 

He cleared his throat and spoke loudly to get his voice above the crowd. “I'm telling you, Amaterasu doesn't want to take over Hana! What do you want, her to come out and tell you herself?”

“Like she would!” the port master went off. “She's not going to do anything!”

At that moment, the castle gates swung open. The crowd was instantly hushed at the magnificent sight of Amaterasu in full armour parading out on her horse, Okami trotting next to her. Soma and a select number of the guard were behind her, equally as imposing. Zubatto flew from the tree to Soma. 

Amaterasu spoke evenly and everyone quieted to listen. “My royal guard was preparing to leave. Then I hear that there's a mob in front of the castle gates. Please depart at once.”

The lord bowed toward her. “My lady. Did you say that you're leaving?” He held a hopeful tone.

“Trying to,” she said. “Now that the sickness plaguing Hana has been removed, there's no reason to stay any longer.” She added, “we'll leave the supplies we brought.”

The port master pushed his way through the mob to the great displeasure of those being knocked aside by him. He stared boldly at the queen. “Do yah mean it? Yah'll never come back?”

“Of course we'll come back at the lord's invitation,” Amaterasu said. “I only come to Hana on business. If there's no reason to be here, I won't over extend my welcome.”

“You see?” The lord pushed the port master's head down. “Bow down before royalty, you swine!”

To Kurogane, Amaterasu said, “I believe that I owe you payment for riding this land of sickness once and for all.” She signalled to a guard sitting on a horsed cart. “This is for you.”

Kurogane and Fai bowed low. “Many thanks, milady.”

“Oh, and another thing.”

The crowd parted for Kurogane and Fai to come up to Amaterasu. She leaned down from her horse to speak privately to them. “Kurogane, you're so close to Shirasaki. Did you want to come back with us for a visit?”

Yes, was the first thought that came to Kurogane's mind. It was horrible temptation, nearly cruel of Amaterasu to even propose it. 

“I can't,” Kurogane said. “Princess Tomoyo sent me away to teach me a lesson. I still have more learning to do.”

Amaterasu smiled at him. “So studious. I wish you luck.” Her eyes flicked to Fai. “Luck to your entire crew.” 

Kurogane bowed again. “Thank you, milady.”

They watched as Amaterasu and her parade exited back into the castle. The crowd, with nothing else to get upset over, dissipated into their usual routine. All that was left was Fai, Kurogane, their cart of supplies and the port master who looked quite out of sorts.

“I guess I owe you for an extra night, huh?” Kurogane said to him. 

The port master sat down in the middle of the street and covered his face with a hand. “Don't bother.”

Kurogane shrugged. “Suit yourself.” 

He and Fai walked with the cart down to the port. Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona met them at the bottom of the gangpank.

“We were so worried!” Sakura said. “The wind carried blood on it and Syaoran and I were ready to go to the volcano to help you.”

“But then we saw the streak of light going into the sky and knew you were okay.” Syaoran's finger traced the trajectory the daemon had taken in the sky. “It looked like a falling star, only it was shooting up instead of down.”

“We've got a lot to tell you about,” Fai said. He nodded towards the full cart. “But we need to deal with this first.”

They loaded the ship and Kurogane fixed the steering wheel to its place. “The tide is going out,” he said. “Let's go. Syaoran, Sakura, unfurl the sails! Fai, take the pole and push us off the deck!”

Mokona came up and saluted Kurogane. “What should I do, Capt'n!”

“Get me the map,” Kurogane grinned. “We're heading to our destination with no more stops.”


	2. Homebound

Kurogane was correct about not needing to make any more stops. Their journey gave way to old patterns and new habits; Kurogane taught Sakura how to steer, a natural skill to go with her wind-reading. With the extra time he gained not having to be at the wheel, he taught Syaoran how to wield a sword. Fai volunteered to practice Sakura's wind magic with her and taught all of them how to cook. Mokona would entertain them with exaggerated stories from Yuuko's day. One night before bed, Kurogane listened to Fai's steady breathing and thought about how different his life onboard the Kirikuro was now that he had a crew.

After a week of hugging the shore, the Kirikuro entered open ocean, destined for the Passage of Exit. When they caught sight of the tall rocks that signalled the entrance to the passage, he took control of the steering. Everyone went to positions and waited.

“It's called the Passage of Exit, because one wrong move and you exit your life!” Kurogane shouted so the whole ship could hear him above the cracking of waves upon the rocks. “We can't let the ship get too close to the rocks or the waves will take over and crash us into them. It's going to take all of our skills. Are you ready?”

From the foremast, Syaoran shouted, “Let's do this!”

“I'm ready,” Sakura said at the base of the main mast.

“Steer us to victory,” Fai said in front of Kurogane, manning the mizzen.

“Aye, aye, Capt'n!” Mokona shouted from her perch on the railing. She had her straw hat on again. “I'm proud of this crew.”

“So am I,” Kurogane said. He felt the first swell as the passage sucked the ship in. “It's starting!”

Kurogane rapidly yelled orders as they navigated the rocks. Syaoran, the closest to the front of the ship would yell back, giving information about the ship's position to the rocks and even the odd order directed to Kurogane.

Once, Kurogane misjudged a wave that rebounded off a rock and pushed the Kirikuro into the rock opposite. Kurogane braced for impact, but the ship sharply turned away from disaster at the last moment. 

“What was that?” Kurogane called out.

“Me!” Sakura said. “I used the wind to push at the sails! Sorry!”

“No, do that again if you ever need to!” The next problem demanded Kurogane's focus, so he left the matter there.

With tremendous skill, luck and a bit of magic, the Kirikuro came out the other side of the Passage of Exit. Stretched out before them was an ocean as calm as Kurogane had ever seen.

“Did... did we do it?” Sakura asked hopefully.

“Report, Syaoran!” Kurogane called. 

Meiling flew to the top of the foremast as a sparrow. The distance tugged at her invisible connection with Syaoran, so she returned after a scarce minute. 

“There aren't any obstructions!” Syaoran called back. “I think we're good.”

“Yeah,” Kurogane said, half in disbelief at what they had accomplished. “We did it!”

“Alright!” Sakura clapped her hands together excitedly. “Fai, where do we go from here?”

“I don't know,” Fai said. He frowned. “I don't think we're at the place in the map yet.”

“What are you talking about?” Kurogane said. “The X was on the Passage of Exit.” He unfurled the witch's map to double-check.

Fai checked over his shoulder. “See, the X is a little west of the Passage of Exit.”

Crap. He was right. Kurogane rolled the map up again. “I guess we keep sailing west.” 

The most harrowing part of the journey over. Kurogane breathed a sigh of relief. It was only smooth sailing from here on out.

“We need to hold on tight to the ship,” Mokona said suddenly.

“What are you talking about, meat bun?” Kurogane asked.

Mokona stamped her foot, unusually angry. “Yuuko just told me! She said we need to make sure that we're holding on to the boat real tight!”

Kurogane tried to share a quizzical look with Fai, but Fai was looking worriedly at the horizon. 

“We should do as Mokona and Yuuko say,” he said. 

“Fine. Sakura, you know where the rope is. Go get it. Syaoran, help her. Fai, fetch the –”

Fai was already prying the knife from the banister. 

From his place behind the wheel, he watched as Sakura and Syaoran used a multitude of rope to attach themselves to various parts of the ship, trailing rope between the mast, the railing and the door to the cabin. Meiling turned into a mouse to crawl into his pocket, while Sakura tucked her Kero into her shirt, next to her heart. 

Fai hurried to Kurogane next, tying a length of rope through the spokes of the wheel then around Kurogane's waist. Kurogane scanned the horizon, trying to find what had frightened Fai so much. 

While Fai was circling rope around his waist, Kurogane looked down at him with a question he was surprised not to have wondered sooner. “If your home's so far away, how did you get here anyway?”

Fai glanced up. He was kneeling in front of Kurogane, his hands resting softly on the new knot around Kurogane's waist next to Souhi. “I fell,” he said. “And it looks like I'll need to fall again to get back home.”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Kurogane started. Then he saw the amusement dancing in Fai's eyes. He grunted and returned to steering. 

Fai tied himself up close by, against the railing so that Kurogane had the vantage of seeing all his crew braced for an impact they didn't know was coming. 

They sailed without incident for a few more leagues, until a persistent buzzing began to pick up. It increased in frequency until it became a massive roar. Sakura held her hands to her ears. Syaoran instinctively stepped towards her, but was held taut by the rope. He could only call her name and look on worriedly. 

Kurogane checked all sides of the ship. Nothing seen to be causing the noise. “What is that?” he yelled out, not even sure if he could be heard. 

Fai turned, one hand holding tight to the railing, the other clutching a terrified Mokona to his chest. “The end of the world!” he called out. He said something else, but the roar swallowed that up. Instead, Fai risked his hand off the railing to point in front of the ship.

Kurogane followed the motion. He couldn't see anything, just the sun setting in front of them. It was what they had been sailing to these past weeks. When he finally noted the fine mist that rose from the ocean, partially clouding the fading sun, he cursed himself for the second time that day. Akame sensed his panic and scrambled under his clothes. He threw an arm around his torso to steady her and locked himself against the steering wheel as they fell over the waterfall.

Gravity had lost itself on them. At first, Kurogane thought they were flying, with Sakura, Syaoran and Fai floating a few feet up into the air. Of course, they weren't flying, the boat was falling; and it took them with it, plunging nose-first into darkness. 

The Kirikuro sharply levelled out. Kurogane smashed against the wheel, squashing Akame in the process and Kurogane felt that phantom pain in his back. Still, he fought to keep the wheel steady and the rudder straight, feeling that was their only saving grace. 

Their speed levelled out, and soon the boat was drifting through the dark as it had through the water before. It seemed like gravity never really came back, and the crew's feet couldn't touch the deck, their ropes the only things preventing them from cascading out into the darkness.

“Sakura!” Syaoran called.

Sakura was curled up in a ball. Her hand was clutching onto the rope, her lifeline. As she evaluated her situation, she slowly uncurled herself. “I'm fine. How are you?”

“Alright.” Meiling poked her whiskered face out of his pocket. “A little shaken up.”

“Where are we?” Sakura asked.

“Fai,” Kurogane said. Fai had been rocked back and forth like the rest of them, but now, floating a foot above the deck and with a dreamy expression on his face, he looked at home. 

“We're in the night sky.” The hand that wasn't holding Mokona pointed behind Kurogane. “Look.”

Kurogane turned and Akame let out a squawk that was very unsnake-like. A huge oval of blue with chunks of green and smarmy white dominated behind them. The waterfall that had taken them fell off the oval in a mad rush downward, shattering into white mist where it hit the black.

The ship was still being pulled on by some invisible current, steady and upright. The terror of their new situation was lessened somewhat by the familiar rhythm of his boat moving. 

“Where are we going?” Akame asked. A fresh course of fear stabbed its way through Kurogane. But when he saw Fai's face, actually smiling and eyes fixed onward, the fear turned into a tantalizing ripple down his spine. He missed this feeling of adventure.

Fai loped the map to Kurogane. It didn't rise and fall straight as Kurogane predicted. At the apex of the throw, it floated for a moment before gently falling for Kurogane to catch. “That map only gave us directions for how to get to the end of the world. It's useless now,” Fai said.

“Then how do we know where to go?” Sakura asked. Kurogane restrained himself from asking exactly how he was supposed to steer the ship.

“He knows.” Fai looked at Syaoran. 

“What do you mean?” Syaoran fought at the rope preventing him from moving. Meiling chewws at the rope. Finally, Syaoran managed to tuck out of his bounds, only to start drifting off the deck.

“Careful kid,” Kurogane said. Since he needed the freedom to steer the ship, Fai hadn't tied him and Akame nearly as securely as he did the kids. He quickly threw off his binds and immediately lost contact with the deck. 

“Think heavy thoughts,” Fai recommended. He had abandoned his rope immediately after the fall.

Kurogane thought about the stance he took so often when holding the sword, both feet sure on the ground, his muscles tight and ready to move. As soon as he made contact with the solid wood of the deck, he moved to where the kids were.

Fai was already there. He neither rejected the lack of gravity, nor did he embrace it, making his steps more like bounds, his movement effortless. He helped Sakura from the binds he placed her in and grabbed her hands when she started drifting away. “Careful, princess.” He guided her back down. 

Meanwhile, Kurogane was standing under Syaoran, his concentration towards the situation divided by his focus on keeping himself heavy, like Fai said. 

“Remember the sword stances I taught you,” he said. “Feel the energy start in your feet and radiate up.” 

That brought Syaoran down, but not enough for him not to be swept off if the ship got caught in rough waters.

“Make yourself heavy,” Akame snapped at Meiling. “Sit on his foot and remind him what strength is.” 

Meiling climbed her way down Syaoran's leg. She transformed into a turtle and hooked her little claws into the thong of Syaoran's sandals. That was the push Syaoran needed to fall back to the deck. 

“Good.” Fai smiled when he saw that Syaoran had his footing back. “Honestly, this was what I was most worried about.”

“I don't know where to go from here,” Syaoran said. “I don't know why you said that I did.”

“Maybe I wasn't being clear. You don't know how to get where we're going, but you have something that does.”

Syaoran looked at Fai confused for a few moments. Then, his eyes lit up. “Oh! You mean this.” From his belt, he pulled the board he first had when he had arrived at the witch's place.

Fai nodded. “That's a rashinban. It's like a compass.”

“Doesn't look like any kind of compass I've ever seen,” Syaoran said. 

“I wouldn't be surprised,” Kurogane said. He had understood immediately once Fai identified the rashinban. His mother, a priestess, had often worked with compasses like this, although she drew hers on the ground in salt. “It doesn't sound like wherever you're from knows a lot about other places.”

Syaoran looked at Kurogane amused.

“I'm not the first dweller of the night sky to visit your earth,” Fai said. “There's a famous legend of night dwellers becoming trapped on your earth. They learned all about your nature and your art and taught their nature and art in turn. This is one of the artifacts produced by that marriage.” Fai gently pressed a finger to each of the points holding a character – Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, clouds, rain and electricity. “There are some things that are the same no matter where you are in the universe.”

“This can lead to your home?” Sakura asked. 

“Sort of. It can lead to anything you'd like. Syaoran, please.” Fai bent down so he could look into Syaoran's stern honey-coloured eyes. “I don't know where to go from here. Could you please help me find my way home?”

“Of course.” The answer came easily, because the question was no question at all for Syaoran. Meiling let out an odd turtle chirp. Syaoran smiled at her. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

“You've travelled all this way with the rashinban. You've formed a connection. Listen to what it tells you,” Fai said. 

“For a long time, I've heard it whispering,” Syaoran said. “That's what made me pick it up. That's what made me come here.”

Fai asked, “What's it saying now?”

Syaoran closed his eyes. He held the rashinban in front of him. “Source of light with ancient spin. Send forth the power within. Find what is not in my sight – release the light.”

A beam of light shot out of the rashiban. It careened to the side, into the dark unknown. 

Mokona bounded over. “Syaoran, you did it!”

“I did,” Syaoran said, slightly dazed at what he had accomplished.

Kurogane's eye followed the beam of light as it faded into the dark. That was the path they were to follow.

“But how can we follow it?” Kurogane asked. “We're not in the sea anymore. I don't know how to move the ship.”

Sakura piqued like it was her cue. “I have an idea!” She closed her eyes. A powerful surge pushed at the ship, sending it shooting ahead. 

“Oh!” Sakura opened her eyes. “I guess I need to work on my steering.”

“What did you do?” Kurogane asked incredulously.

Sakura closed her eyes again. The ship was pushed, this time at a much more steady pace. Sakura opened her eyes, although it was clear that she was concentrating hard. The ship continued to move. “I can still use my wind out here.”

“Amazing.” Kurogane breathed. He went back to the wheel and tested the steering. He moved the mizzen and direct Sakura to blow her wind in it. The Kirikuro responded as beautifully as if it were still in the ocean. 

Kurogane met Fai's eyes. “Let's get you home.”

The Kirikuro plunged into the night, passing by stars and other worlds. The only trouble they encountered was Syaoran's rashinban. For the most part, it led them straight and true. Kurogane had no problems following the purple beam to Fai's earth. But sometimes, the light wavered, smeared against the black sky until it disappeared. These were always the times when Syaoran was alone, only Meiling to distract him.

“Maybe you need more practice,” Kurogane suggested. They had just finished another training session and were sharing a flask of water under the main mast. Syaoran had grown confident in the his use of the blade and Kurogane was proud when he actually had to work to maintain his footing, lest Syaoran gain the upper hand.

Now, Syaoran blushed. The rashinban was in his lap and he was concentrating hard. Meiling turned from a snake (mirroring Akame, much to her flattery) into a mouse and crawled into Syaoran's pocket.

“What's wrong?” Kurogane asked. 

“It's nothing. It's just... .” Syaoran trailed off.

Kurogane clued in. “That thing finds what you want most. It's okay if what you want most isn't to find Fai's earth. Not right now, at least.”

Syaoran gave up on the rashinban with a sigh. “I do want to help Fai get home. But there's something else. The reason why I agreed to come with you guys wasn't because I wanted to get home or because I wanted to help Fai get home.”

“What is it?”

“I don't know if I can say it. It's more like a feeling.”

Kurogane edged closer. “Show me.”

Syaoran took a deep breath. He muttered into his rashinban. The feeble directional light transformed into a brilliant beam that curved in the opposite direction than before. 

Kurogane let a low whistle. “Thanks for the co-ordinates, kid.”

Syaoran looked at Kurogane, eyes shining. “Can we go?”

“I'm the captain. And the captain says yes.”

Syaoran lit up. Meiling turned into a sparrow and darted along and through the light in a joyful dance. 

When Kurogane climbed the stairs to the quarter deck, Fai smiled at him warily, having no doubt seen the change in the rashinban's direction.

“Move it.” Kurogane grabbed a spoke of the wheel. “I'll take over.”

Fai slouched over the wheel, somehow managing to lay his limbs between the spokes. Kurogane was completely unable to move the wheel or Fai off of it.

Fai looked at Kurogane through the slits in his lashes. “Where are we going, Captain Black?”

“The kid found a new place to go to.” He tried to shake Fai off the wheel and failed miserably.

“So we aren't going home?”

“We are. It's just a stop over.” Fai still wouldn't move. Kurogane sighed. “I didn't launch myself into the night sky to not take you home. The kid's just at that age when he needs to be challenged in order to grow.”

“What about you, Kuro-Kuro?” Kurogane couldn't tell because he hid behind his arm, but he was sure that Fai was smiling. “Are you saying that you're already grown-up because you aren't being challenged?”

“You're my challenge.” Kurogane poked at Fai's side. “Move.”

Fai managed to go from slumping over the wheel to slumping over the rail in one fluid motion. Kurogane thought that if his daemon were here, it would be a cat.

Kurogane took his place behind the wheel. He could feel Sakura's wind building. She waved at him from the main deck and Kurogane nodded his thanks. If Syaoran was trying to become a better man for her sake, he could do no better. 

The wheel moved smoothly under his hands, as if the ship had it in its own mind to follow Syaoran's rashinban. 

Time seemed as endless as the dark night that stretched before them. Without the rise and fall of the sun – they had left Kurogane's sun behind long ago – it was difficult for him to judge how much time had passed. Fai and the kids slept, and then Fai took over the wheel again and Kurogane slept with Akame coiled at his head. When he re-emerged on deck with a bowl of porridge and a spoon, Syaoran and Sakura were in a flutter, pointing excitedly at a new earth looming towards them. 

This earth was a fierce red smothered in blackness like smoke. “Fit for us,” Akame whispered in his ear. He looked into her red eyes and she looked into his. A bizarre coincidence. Kurogane smiled. He could feel excitement mounting. 

He shovelled a few heaping spoonfuls of porridge into his mouth before abandoning the bowl to man his post behind the wheel. Fai was there again and relinquished steering to Kurogane with only a quirked eyebrow. Clearly Fai picked up on how this earth looked like a blown-up version of Kurogane's own eye. 

“Yuuko would call this fate,” he said.

“Yuuko can fuck off.”

“We don't have to go,” Fai said.

“Sure we do,” Kurogane said stubbornly.

As they approached the red earth, Syaoran ran up the stairs of the quarter deck in a hurry. “How are we going to land the ship?” he asked.

“Well, I figured... .” Kurogane trailed off, looking to Fai.

Fai pressed his hands together like a prayer and tipped them forward. “Just dive in.”

Syaoran furrowed his brow. “That's impossible. If we even have the force necessary to pierce the atmosphere, this wooden ship will be torn up on entry.”

Kurogane bristled. “You can talk your nonsense about 'at-moss-fear', but don't you insult this ship.” It was a gift from Princess Tomoyo. 

“Sorry, Kurogane,” Syaoran immediately responded. “I didn't mean to insult the Kirikuro. But I think that it's going to be torn-up on entry.”

Kurogane looked at Syaoran blankly.

“It's that –” Syaoran floundered, searching for the right words. “This earth is too strong for the Kirikuro.”

“Impossible,” Kurogane scoffed.

“It's true! We need to –” Before Syaoran could finish his thought, the prow hit something. The ship shuddered at the impact and came to a stop.

“What do you see?” Kurogane called up to Sakura in the fighting top. 

“I can't see anything,” Sakura called back. “But there's definitely something surrounding the planet. My wind is pushing against it.”

“A barrier, huh?” Kurogane slammed his fist against the wheel. He hated coming up against magic.

“That's what I was trying to say,” Syaoran said, exasperated.

“How can we get through?” Fai asked.

Syaoran shook his head. “We would have to go fast. Like, really, really, really fast.”

“We should have approached faster,” Kurogane said, cursing not having a plan to begin with. “Maybe I could go to the prow and cut a hole in the barrier with Souhi.”

“You can't,” Syaoran said quickly. “I mean, if that would even work, we have to be careful not to damage the atmo – the barrier. It's there to protect the earth.”

“Dammit!”

Fai frowned. “This is a problem I never thought of before.”

“Wait, don't use Souhi!” Sakura called. “I have an idea.” She tossed Mokona from the fighting top. 

Mokona drifted down, giggling all the way. Syaoran caught her and, staying snuggled in Syaoran's arms, she told them Sakura's plan.

“Sakura says that when she tries really hard, she can feel her wind pushing the barrier open. Like when Mokona sticks her hand into a hot bun! There's a little hole, but it fills back in.”

Syaoran sucked in his breath. “That's going to be really hard for her.”

“Yeah!” Mokona cheered. “But Sakura said she wants to be helpful!”

“She's always helpful,” Syaoran said. He took off down the stairs, to stand under the main mast where Sakura was.

“We have our way in.” Kurogane tightened his hold, ready to steer for their lives once they pushed through the barrier. 

With Syaoran tangled in the netting, yelling encouragement at her, Sakura pushed her wind against the barrier and the ship. Resistance could still be felt, like the whole ship was sailing underwater towards the brackish clouds.

Then they were through. Sakura's wind never let up behind them and they sailed through the dark clouds towards the red earth hard. They began fighting the real wind then. Sakura's wind buffeted against the red earth's wind and the outcome rocked the ship harder than when they had gone through the barrier. 

“Careful!” Kurogane called out, not sure if she could hear him.

“Sakura!” Fai shouted. Even though he was right next to Kurogane, his voice was lost on the wind.

The ship tipped violently back and forth as they came down. A particular bad blast toppled the Kirikuro over so that its keel cut skyward and masts pointed towards the ground.

Sakura fell, a bundle that somersaulted over itself in the sky. Syaoran let go of the netting, falling with her. 

Kurogane tried to steer the ship to follow them, but he didn't know the controls upside-down while also gripping the wheel for safety. Without Sakura's wind to float on, the ship was plunging toward the red ground. 

A smooth whistle, like the highest note on a flute, pierced his hearing. Gently, the ship righted itself. It met the ground in a soft motion, coming to rest tilted against a cliff. 

Kurogane refused to let go of the wheel until Akame slithered across his tight knuckles, trying to soothe him. She climbed his arm and they both looked at Fai.

“That whistling,” Kurogane said. “That was magic”

Fai leaned against the railing, searching the main deck. “We lost Mokona as well. She must have been holding on to Syaoran.”

“You can use magic.” Kurogane grabbed Fai by his shirt when he tried to walk by. “Why didn't you use it sooner to save the kids?”

“Magic isn't always a blessing,” Fai said softly. “Ask Princess Tomoyo, if you ever get the chance again.”

Kurogane's grip tightened. “You could have saved them.”

“They'll be fine.”

“Don't act like you don't care!” When the kids fell, Kurogane had watched Fai. “You were ready to let go of the railing and fall with them. You want to save them, admit it.”

Kurogane didn't realize how much he cared about Fai until they were like this, Kurogane finally pinning Fai in place and forcing him to confront himself. His hand eased until he could feel Fai's steadily beating heart.

Fai still refused to meet Kurogane's eyes. “If I could have done this entire journey by myself, I would have. But I can't steer a ship or manipulate wind or find my way home by myself.”

“No, but you have magic and knowledge about the night sky. I'm guessing that you could travel to your world in ways none of us can imagine. But you didn't. You went to the witch for help. You need others more than even you realize.” He knew it was true with Fai, because it was true for him. Everyone needs someone. That's why people were created with daemons, so they were never alone.

With absolute gentleness, Fai freed Kurogane's hand from his shirt. He walked away, towards the main deck, never letting Kurogane see his face.

Kurogane was still shaken. The thrill of a new adventure had faded to the fear of losing the kids and now, maybe Fai, too. He remembered them falling from a great height. “Did they even survive?”

“Yes,” Akame said. “I watched to see where they landed. They fell into a hole in a mountain. Inside, it was glittering and blue, like water.”

“But from that height... .”

“Sakura has her own wind,” Akame reminded him. “She could have helped buffer their fall.”

“Yeah.” Kurogane let Akame's words seep into his mind. “You're right. They're probably okay. We just need to find them and get them back.” He grunted under his breath. “I sure hope Syaoran enjoys his adventure.”

The earth they had landed on seemed to have been sapped of all colour except for a blood red soaked into the mountains and ground. A haze of black crowned the peaks of mountains that surrounded the circular valley Fai had guided them to. There were no trees, no shrubs, no life.

“Kurogane, look.” 

Kurogane followed Akame's bobbing head. To the far end of the valley, full body reliefs of two people had been carved into the mountain. They faced each other over the dusty land, the statue on the right with long, flowing hair raising their hand. The statue on the left, however, had their hand lowered, resting on the edge of the mountain.

“So we know there have to be some kind of people here,” he said. “Those aren't natural.”

Fai had already loosened a rope from around the main mast and cast it toward the ground. Kurogane used it to join him on the red valley. 

“They fell there.” Fai pointed to the facade of the two people. “On the other side of that mountain range.”

“What are we going to do about the ship?” Kurogane asked. The Kirikuro stuck out like a bruise on the landscape. 

“We don't want someone to steal it and lose our way off this planet,” Fai agreed. They investigated their surroundings, searching for a solution.

The valley was uncomfortably hot, made more so by the dryness that clung to the air and filled the lungs. Akame had already hid herself in the shade cast by the ship tilting into the mountain face, but that only provided some relief for her cold-blood. The wisps of black clouds filled the air, blocking most light from the sun. This earth itself was dry, hot and terrible. 

It wasn't long before Kurogane had sweated through his top. He took it off and looped it around his neck, much like Akame's preferred position. He lifted a stone, more out of curiosity than anything. A scorpion reared up at him. Kurogane scrambled back. The scorpion scrambled under another rock that Kurogane left un-turned.

He could feel Akame laughing at him through their connection. 

Chagrined, Kurogane decided to go back to the ship and see what Fai had found. As he approached, Akame emerged from her cool spot to scoot up his leg and snuggled under the rolled-up top in apology.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kurogane said, petting her head.

“Kuro-Kuro, I think I found a –” Fai walked around the ship and stopped. 

“What?” The red dust from the stones had marked his hands and Kurogane wondered if he had gotten any on his face.

Fai's face was turning red, but from a blush. “It's nothing.”

“No?” asked Kurogane, amused. Fai always tried hiding his emotions, but he couldn't hide the reactions of his body. Kurogane wanted to find whatever was making Fai blush so honestly and amplify it.

“I know why,” Akame said.

Tell me later, he told her through their connection. To Fai, he said, “Did you find a way to hide the ship?”

“Oh. Yes.” Fai held up his hands, stained red like Kurogane's. “We can't hide it completely, but we can camouflage it with the dust in this valley.”

“Camouflage.” Akame spoke to Fai. “I like it.”

Kurogane was momentarily stupefied. Daemons would speak to other daemons, and Akame often chatted with Kero or Meiling when Kurogane was busy with a mind-numbing chore. Speaking to another person was a sign of close intimacy.

“You were the inspiration,” Fai said back to her, apparently not understanding how much Akame had just elevated their relationship. “When you tuck yourself against Captain Black, I can hardly see you.”

They scrapped dust into bowls. They rubbed it on the haul and threw it on the mast. When all was done, the ship was the same red as the mountain behind it, as were much of Kurogane and Fai's bodies. 

“I would love a bath,” Fai said, wiping his face on a wet cloth. “Maybe if we find a lake.”

“Hey, Fai.” Kurogane dusted his hands of the red as best he could. “I'm not sorry for what I said earlier. But I am sorry about putting my hands on you.”

“By now I'm used to Kuro-Kuro playing rough,” Fai said with a laughing smile. “I hope you know that I can fight back by now.”

“Yeah. But still.”

“Thanks, Captain.” Fai tried a sloppy salute that would have edged Mokona on if she had been there. “Let's go get the kids.”

They crossed the valley while sticking close to the mountain range that provided a moderate amount of shade to stay cool. The hazy light that tinged the sky barely changed despite the many hours they had been on the earth. The dry air seemed to rob them of any liquid they had, and Kurogane found his flask of water rapidly depleting. 

In the beginning of their trip, Kurogane had kept his eyes peeled along the landscape, looking for disturbances or signs of the people that had carved the statues. Eventually, his eyes became tired from gazing at the same red, so he focused on Fai ahead of him and let Akame's heightened senses take over.

Half way across the valley, Akame let Kurogane know of an ambush a split second before Kurogane realized fighting would be futile. Seemingly coming off of the rock face, a swarm of red cloaks surrounded them. 

Kurogane already had Souhi drawn and Akame in position. Fai had the knife they used on the ship out. They couldn't see the faces or bodies of anyone in a red cloak, which made predicting their attacks difficult. One of them pointed what looked like a cross at them. 

“Thieves,” he said. Bullets shot out of the cross in rapid succession. Kurogane darted away, closer to another shroud figure, confident that he wouldn't risk hitting a comrade. Kurogane was right, and his opponent's hesitation gave Kurogane a crucial second to judge the scene. 

Fai had not only followed in Kurogane's lead, but also managed to throw the knife at the man, as smooth as a magician. Another figure behind the man stepped out with a gold chain. When he connected the two ends of the chain, a perfect circle of mirrored gold appeared to protect the man. 

The man raised his cross to Fai next and Kurogane darted out. He scrapped Souhi against the ground, flicking dust into the man's hood and delaying the attack. Kurogane jabbed his sword into the mysterious hood, certain that he avoided any crucial areas. 

The crowd immediately stilled. The cloaked figures gasped and one called out, “Prince Touya!”

The man Kurogane had pinned pulled back his hood. Narrow, dark eyes gazed hatefully out at Kurogane under a fringe of black hair. “I'm fine.” When he spoke, his Adam's apple grazed Kurogane's blade. 

“Why are you attacking us?” Fai asked. Akame looked and Kurogane saw that he had also managed to take a hooded figure hostage, bowed over with another knife to their throat. Fai spoke cheerfully. “We haven't done anything to you.”

“You're drinking something,” Touya said. “What is it?”

“This?” With the hand that wasn't holding the knife, Fai reached for the flask at his hip. “Water. See?” He poured a bit out onto the red ground as evidence. 

This elicited a gasp from the crowd, much the same as when Kurogane struck blindly at Touya. Immediately, Fai stopped.

“So you steal water from us and then you waste it!” Touya gritted his teeth. “You're worse than thieves!”

The figure behind Touya, the one with the golden chain and barrier stepped forward. “You don't know that they stole the water from us, Touya.” He pulled back his hood to reveal hair as light as spun gold and eyes much kinder than his comrade's. “My name is Yukito. What should we call you?”

Fai introduced himself and Kurogane introduced him and Akame. Yukito nodded politely at Akame, seeming a little wide-eyed. Perhaps Kurogane had crossed a social taboo on this earth by drawing attention to his daemon. Their daemons all seemed to be hiding beneath those long cloaks.

“I'm sorry to have to ask this,” Yukito went on. “But where did you get the water?”

“What happens if we give you an answer you don't like?” Kurogane asked. 

Touya smiled. “Then this continues.”

“What's the answer that you want?” Fai asked. 

“That you either stole it from Yama,” Yukito said. “Or that you found a new well here in Shura and were selfish.”

“We came from another world,” Kurogane said.

Fai sighed. “I doubt that's the right answer, Captain Black.”

“Good.” Kurogane smiled. “We can keep fighting.”

“Wait.” Touya frowned. “What's wrong with your daemon?”

“Nothing.” Kurogane wouldn't let himself be distracted by such stupid tactics.

“There is,” Touya insisted. “Where are its inscriptions?”

“The hell are you talking about?” Kurogane took the comment as a hit to his pride. 

“Your sword. It looks like a normal sword.”

“Of course it does.”

“Do we have to fight?” Fai asked. “It seems to be wasting a lot of time. And we're rather short on time.”

“Good point,” Yukito agreed. “Let's lower our daemons and have a discussion. There's no way you could win against all of us, anyway.”

“These guys might,” Touya said. His cross twitched. 

With her gaze fixed behind him, Akame saw how Fai released his prisoner, clapped him on the back and walked back into the middle of the crowd. Idiot.

Fai stopped, something on the ground catching his attention. He bent to where Touya's bullets landed. “Kurogane? You should see this.”

“I'm not letting this fucker go yet,” Kurogane snarled. 

“I'll show Akame, then?”

Touya curled his lip. “The snake? You guys are the weirdest thieves.”

Fai held what he picked up from the ground to Akame. It was a flower petal, smelling sweetly of honey and peaches. 

“What the hell?” The flower petal was the bullet he dodged. “How could a flower petal do that?”

Touya stepped back, but Kurogane kept on him with the sword. “How can you see that if it's behind you?”

“Through Akame. She's my daemon,” Kurogane explained, as though Touya was six years-old.

“A snake can't be a daemon!” Touya held up his cross, careful not to point it at anyone. “This is a daemon!”

“We all need to back off,” Fai suggested. 

Finally, Kurogane lowered his sword. He was becoming tired from the messy trip, the dry air, the strangeness all around him. “What the hell is going on?”

“Come with us,” Yukito said. “We'll show you.”

One by one, the red hooded figures disappeared into the cliff face. Kurogane stepped to the side. From his new angle, he saw a slip in the rock. There was a staircase that led up built into the rock.

“Get going,” Touya said behind him.

With Kurogane watching Fai's back and Akame watching his, he followed them into the mountain.

About half way up, there was a hole in the cliff face. They entered and the staircase went down. Their descent into darkness was made easier by small dots of light that speckled the walls of the tunnel. 

Fai's slim fingers traced over them as he walked by. “How curious.”

“And very useful,” Yukito said. “These lights are actually caused by algae that lives in the pores of the rock.”

“They look like stars in the night sky,” Fai said.

Touya replied, “That's why they're sacred.”

The air was musty and tinged with moisture, but the coolness of the mountain's innards was welcome after being outside for so long. The tunnel bottomed out to a vast cavern so alight with activity, Kurogane paused to absorb it all. 

Laughter from gangs of children, negotiating from the open market and friendly bickering from all around echoed off the cavern's high ceilings. Doors built into the walls were constantly being opened and closed, leading to either more tunnels or homes. Simple structures of thin wood and cloth divided the large area further and more people threaded between them, going about their days. Sitting in the middle of it all was a well with water that shone like the algae on the walls.

“Welcome to Shura,” Touya said proudly. 

The group with Kurogane and Fai – either as willing hostages or unwilling accomplices, Kurogane couldn't tell – entered the cavern further. A nearby group of children flocked them, paying particular attention to one of the larger of the cloaked figures. He knocked his hood back to show sandy-brown hair and a tough, chiselled face. He grabbed two kids and threw them over his shoulders with much delighted screaming by the kids.

“You kids knock it off,” he said, his threatening tone playful. “Prince Touya has work to do.”

He threw the two kids into a wheelbarrow of wool a nearby merchant was carting. They shrieked, scrambled out of the wool and ran up to the man to be thrown again.

“Kusanagi,” the merchant sighed. But he obligingly kept his cart around long enough for Kusanagi to give each child a chance to be thrown into the soft wool. Then, on Kusanagi's urging, the children helped to clean up any fly-away wool.

“We don't have time to play with children all day,” Touya said. “Let's go.”

“Sorry, Prince,” Kusanagi rejoined them, looking completely unapologetic. He nudged Fai. “He pretends, but he actually loves kids.”

“Little monsters, all of them,” Touya said. He led them through the maze of tents and shacks.

Kurogane followed, positioning himself so that he was closer to Fai. Kusanagi touching Fai had raised his hackles. So much friendliness was inappropriate with someone he didn't know was an ally or an enemy.

“It's so different from your earth,” Fai murmured to him. “All the animals I see are domesticated. There don't appear to be any daemon-animals like you have.”

Kurogane lifted a hand to Akame instinctively, feeling her dry scales. He had no idea that a daemon could be anything but her. “What are daemons like on your earth?”

Fai never replied.

They stopped before an elevated area at the far side of the cave. A chair made of good wood and inlaid with multicoloured stones sat before a carving in the cave wall. Kurogane recognized it as matching one of the statues they saw outside, albeit this time facing the viewer instead of in profile and much smaller. The figure had long hair that flowed down to the floor. Overtop of fine clothing, they wore stiff pieces that Kurogane guessed were armour. One hand held a sword, the other had a flute. They gazed wistfully at the activity in the cavern, overlooking the well of water.

Touya climbed the few steps and sat in the chair. A throne, then. Yukito stood behind him. The others formed a semi-circle around Kurogane and Fai, effectively trapping them. 

Kusanagi withdrew a metal glove that extended his fingers to make claws like a wolf's. “Sorry,” he said, still unapologetic.

“So you say that you're not from Shura. You're from another earth.” Touya propped his head up with one hand. “Interestingly.”

“Do you have any proof?” Yukito asked.

“Well, if you can't tell just by looking at us... .” Fai arched an eyebrow at Akame.

Kurogane shared Akame's indignation at having to prove her own existence. “No,” he said to Fai.

“Aw, come on, Captain Black,” Fai pouted. “You and Akame are quite the team! Show them what you can do!”

Touya's eyes narrowed. “Yes. There's something weird about that snake.”

“Hey!” Kurogane growled. His hand edged towards Souhi. They were outnumbered, but that had never been a deterrent to Kurogane picking a fight.

Yukito leaned forward, his face earnest. “So your name is actually Captain Black? And you said before that the snake is Akame?”

Fai stepped in front of Kurogane before he could answer. “Yep, you remembered all of that correctly!”

Kurogane pushed Fai out of the way. “No, it's not! Well yeah, she's Akame, but my name isn't Captain –”

“But you are Captain,” Fai interrupted. Again. “You're the captain of our crew!”

“That's not my name!” Kurogane erupted. 

“Stupid mage,” Akame hissed.

“Oh!” Yukito gasped. Touya leaned so far forward he almost fell off his throne. 

Fai stepped back to his place next to Kurogane with a smug smile. Kurogane felt Akame's strong desire to strangle Fai and was barely able to keep himself from putting his hands on his neck.

Touya pointed an accusatory finger at them. “Your snake talks!”

Akame tucked her head under Kurogane's top. “She's my daemon,” Kurogane said.

“How can that be?” Yukito held up the chain he used earlier. “This is a daemon.”

“So is this.” Kusanagi brandished his claw.

“Your daemon is your destiny,” Touya said. He laid his cross from before over his lap. “A daemon is something you create, something you put your soul into. It's a tool, your constant companion, that helps you accomplish what you want in life. Everyone knows that.”

“Not where I'm from,” Kurogane grunted. “For us, it's an animal that's born when we are. A daemon stays with us always and we can never be apart. They're like another set of eyes and ears... another head.” He conveniently didn't mention Fai's absent daemon. They were already under enough scrutinization. 

“Is a daemon always a weapon for you?” Fai asked.

“Not always,” Yukito shook his head. “A daemon starts as a wish inside you that builds as you grow up. When you're ready, you build your tool and affix the daemon inside. It can be a tool that helps you accomplish anything – a saw that cuts through any wood for someone who dreams of becoming a carpenter, a loom that can create cloth from any material for one who wants to be a dressmaker.

“I've known Prince Touya since I was a child. I wanted to grow up to protect him.” Yukito smiled. “So my daemon became a shield.”

“I don't need protection.” Touya tapped his cross that shot bullets made from peach blossoms. “I'm going to protect everyone I love.”

“So your daemon helps you accomplish your desires.” Princess Tomoyo took Ginryuu from Kurogane as punishment. If she could have just as easily taken Akame... Kurogane didn't want to think about that.

“Once we know our desires, an oldowan creates our tools and adds these stars.” Yukito pointed to tiny stars that had been etched on both sides of his chain. “Then it becomes a daemon.”

“What do the stars do?” Kurogane asked.

Yukito smiled wide. “They unleash the power of our daemons.” He connected the two ends of the chain together and for the briefest moments, Kurogane saw what the stars created. A golden disk hovered in the air next to Yukito.

“A shield,” Yukito said. “Impenetrable to any attack.” He pulled the chain apart, separating the stars and dispelling the shield.

“My daemon looks different but works the same way.” Touya held his cross to the side so they could see the stars etched into it. He fit it into his hand the way he had outside, with his finger rubbing against a knob. “If I pull this part back, the stars will align and attack. Of course, I won't do that here.”

From the corner of his eye, Kurogane scanned Kusanagi's claws. Each knuckle had a star. No doubt that if he brought his fingers together in a fist, his daemon would attack.

“Another question for you.” Touya had abandoned his cross on his lap again. “You said that you came from another earth. How did you get here?”

Kurogane wasn't sure if the people of Shura were interested in travelling the night sky, but based on their behaviour when they first met, he knew for certain that they would be interested in the stores of water onboard. The Kirikuro was disguised well enough that they wouldn't find it by accident. The key was to make up a lie good enough that they would believe it immediately. 

Kurogane turned to Fai.

“You see,” Fai began without a single beat of hesitation. “One of our crew is magical.”

Yukito looked at Kurogane and frowned. 

“No, not him,” Fai said. Only Kurogane, who had suffered Fai's teasing their entire voyage, knew that he was trying desperately not to laugh. “We were separated from the rest of our crew when we... landed here.”

Touya arched an eyebrow. “And how exactly do you travel between earths?”

They never mentioned that they travelled directly between earths. Kurogane hoped Fai would pick up on this and not mention the night sky.

Instead, he said something stunningly stupid. “A witch gave us a daemon that looks like a rabbit. It swallows us up and when we come out the other side, we're in a new world.”

Kurogane was a soldier trained from an early age who had fought on hundreds of battlefields and endured countless missions. Currently, he fought hard not to sink to his knees in defeat.

Yukito's eyes grew huge. “A rabbit, you say? How lucky!”

They were believing it. Kurogane looked around in disbelief at the hooded guards whispering excitedly. Akame reminded him that after two strangers appeared with a talking snake daemon, maybe voyaging between worlds via a rabbit's stomach wasn't the weirdest thing. 

“Does your daemon-rabbit look the same as our rabbits? Soft fur? Big, floppy ears?” Touya put his fingers behind his head in demonstration.

Fai shook his head. “Not quite. This is a witch's daemon, after all.”

Yukito and Touya sighed despondently. “Then we can't eat it,” Touya said.

“You can eat this rabbit,” Kurogane said.

“We'd rather you didn't, though. Since it's our key to passing between earths.” Fai gave Kurogane a discreet nudge in the ribs.

“Where did your comrades fall?” Touya asked.

Fai said, “On the other side of those big statues outside.”

Kusanagi let out a low whistle. “Then they're history.”

Kurogane's heart sank. “Why do you say that?”

“If they're on the other side of the Gods' Bridge, that means they're in Yama. Those Yama bastards are some of the sickest fucks I know. They send thieves in to steal our water all the time.” Kusanagi shook his head and repeated, “Bastards.”

The entire group seemed to share his sentiment. The only exceptions were the neutral-faced Touya and the worried Yukito. 

“What do they do?” Fai asked. His usually smile was gone. He was as worried as Kurogane.

“What don't they do?” Kusanagi lowered his voice. “I heard they disembowel their children.”

One of the cloaked guard shouted, “They eat the entrails of goats!”

“I heard they wear shoes inside their houses!” Another shouted. 

“Alright, alright.” Touya raised his hand. “Settle down.” He turned back to Kurogane and Fai. “If your friends are in Yama, it's best to abandon them to their fate.”

“We aren't doing that,” Kurogane said.

Touya sighed. “Then tomorrow, we'll bring you to the border of Shura and Yama and you can die with them.”

“Such generosity,” Akame murmured to Kurogane. “A prince that's unwilling to fight is not fit to rule.”

“We don't know the whole situation,” Kurogane whispered back. He caught Fai's eye and realized that he had heard as well. Fai nodded, silently agreeing with what Kurogane had said.

“It's already late,” Touya said. “You can stay the night in a guest chamber. But don't expect any extra water from us – which is fine, since you brought your own.” Touya's eyes lingered on their flasks greedily.

“That's not a problem,” Kurogane said. “Why is water so precious to you?”

“Because water is the most important thing for creating and sustaining life. And we don't have enough,” Yukito said sadly.

“Yukito is right. We barely have enough for our own citizens. We can't waste it on you.” Touya stood up, tucking his daemon back into his robes. “Everyone except for Kusanagi is dismissed. Tomorrow, all of you will do the daily patrol by yourselves while the three of us bring these two to Yama.”

The cloaked guard bowed and left. 

“Kusanagi,” Touya said, massaging his temple. “Tell the servants to bring rimon.”

“Yes, sir!” Kusanagi gladly hurried away.

Yukito leaned close to talk to Touya about something private, and Kurogane took the opportunity to do the same with Fai.

“Do you think the kids are okay?” he asked.

Fai frowned. “I wonder. Yama sounds like a harsh place.”

“Yeah.” The worry gnawed at Kurogane. “But those kids are tough and resourceful. They'll find a way to survive.”

“They have Mokona at least,” Fai said, trying to join in on Kurogane's optimism. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

“By the way, the daemons of this world...” Kurogane started, but Akame slithered out of his shirt to finish his sentence. “When the stars are in place, they make constellations.”

Fai nodded. “I noticed that, too. I heard a legend about an earth with daemons that were called 'star-tools'. If only I could remember what happened... .”

“Rimon's here!” Kusanagi announced, halting both sets of conversations. He had a tray of glasses in one hand, a bottle in the other and a gleeful smile on his face.

As he poured the bottle, Kusanagi explained how the shadeberries grew in dripping vines near cave entrances, how they were fermented in stoneware and finished with spices and sugar to make a sweet wine called rimon. Then, servants came in with a table and trays of food, and Kusanagi explained how each crop was farmed and dish was prepared. Then, the sixth bottle of rimon was opened, and Kusanagi finally fell silent, sitting happy and red-cheeked on the steps to the throne. 

“Who's that?” Fai pointed his full glass at the facade behind Touya's throne. 

Touya and Yukito had long since abandoned their seats of authority to be closer to the spread of good food. Touya looked behind him at the beautiful and sorrowful figure. “Yukito's the priest. He can tell you.”

Yukito smiled. Out of all of them, he seemed to handle his alcohol best, effectively the same but a bit dreamier. “Ashura is our god.”

Kurogane felt Fai still next to him. 

Akame, as drunk as Kurogane, reached out to lick the back of Fai's hand with her ticklish tongue. Fai smiled at her and ran his thumb over her head as he had seen Kurogane do so many times before. It sent a thrill of pleasure through Kurogane. 

Yukito had been talking through all this, and Kurogane just now tuned in. “Of course, everything changed when Yasha betrayed his trust.”

“What?” Kurogane asked.

Yukito blinked at him and Kurogane had a feeling he was making Yukito repeat himself. “Yama and Shura existed in peace long ago, until Yama's first king, Yasha, betrayed Ashura. They would meet in the moonlight gardens every night to talk about how best to govern their nations. One night, Ashura went there and Yasha was missing. Yasha used the opportunity to invade Shura.”

“It's a sad thing,” Touya said, mostly to his newly empty glass, “to betrayed by a friend.”

“Or a lover, if the other part of the legend is true,” Yukito agreed. “After that, it never rained over Shura again.”

“So you've just been using the water since then,” Kurogane guessed. 

“Yes,” Touya said. “And hundreds of years of dipping into the well has depleted our resources substantially. We've found ways to make wine and food without the use of water, but water is still vital.”

“What are you going to do?” Fai asked. 

“I'm working on something,” Touya said. “Speaking of which, it's long past time for us all to go to bed.”

They stood up from the empty table. Touya cast a disparaging look at the inebriated Kusanagi. “I guess I'll have to show you to your guest room.”

The walk across the cavern was a similar route to before, though much quieter than earlier that day. The spots of algae made foreign constellations on the ceiling. They stopped in front of a door marked in a language Kurogane didn't understand.

Touya handed over a key. “The room was already prepared for you, so there shouldn't be any problems.”

Kurogane took the key. “Thanks, Prince.”

“No problem, Captain Black.”

Blushing, Kurogane jammed the key into the lock and entered the room. It was a lot smaller than Kurogane expected, enough room for two bedrolls to be unrolled and not much else. A table stacked with bottles was in the corner. Kurogane uncorked one. Rimon. This really was the royal welcome.

“Are you coming in?” Kurogane asked Fai.

“In a minute.” Fai's head was poking around the door, watching something outside. Finally, he entered fully and shut the door. He saw what Kurogane was holding and his eyes lit up. “Nightcap?”

“Looks like.” There might have been cups hidden away somewhere, but Kurogane was in no mood to search for them. Instead, he handed the open bottle to Fai and uncorked a fresh bottle for himself. 

“To Shura's hospitality!” Fai cheered. They knocked bottles and took a swig. 

“To finding the kids tomorrow.” They toasted again, this time taking a much longer drink.

Time and one more bottle each found them lying on the floor. 

“When Yukito mentioned Ashura, you froze,” Kurogane said. He didn't know what made him say it. He doubted Fai would be any more honest drunk off his ass.

“I thought they were talking about someone else,” Fai said. “But it can't be the same one.”

“Your earth and this earth; Sakura's time and Syaoran's time... there seem to be a lot of similarities,” Akame said.

“That's because we all sleep under the same night sky,” Fai said. “Our earths used to share our knowledge and arts with each other. It seems like that time is over.”

“We'll bring it back.” Akame left Kurogane to coil around Fai's head and fall asleep.

“I should too,” Kurogane yawned, forgetting that Fai couldn't hear their bond. “Night, mage.”

“Good night, Captain Black.”

A thought entered Kurogane's head, too pressing to leave for the next morning. Kurogane shook Fai's shoulder blindly, hoping that he hadn't fallen asleep yet. “And Fai?”

“Mmm?”

“Thanks for caring about the kids. For whatever reason, it's important to you to pretend like you don't care about any of us. But you know what?”

Fai was silent. Akame said, “What, Kurogane?”

“For all you try, you're a terrible liar.”

With that, Akame and Kurogane fell asleep. When Fai finally slept, Kurogane had no idea.

A pounding on the door came way too soon. From the other side, a voice called out, “The Prince is ready to head out.”

Fai groaned. “What time is it?”

“How would I know?” Kurogane murmured. Light put out by the algae made it seem like it was always night and that much harder to wake up. And sleeping on the cave floor instead of unrolling the beds was a terrible, drunken idea.

Fai followed Kurogane's lead in splashing some of their small water supply on his face and swishing it in his mouth. 

“Oh!” Fai said mid-gargle. “Last night I saw Touya leave Shura.”

Kurogane swallowed his water. “What?” 

“I watched him leave through the cave entrance. Yukito wasn't with him.”

“Fuck. We better keep our eyes open.” Which was fresh, considering Kurogane wanted nothing more than to sleep for another ten years.

Kusanagi didn't look much better. He met them just outside their small room with none of the cheeriness he had the day before. “How'd you sleep?” he asked crustily.

“'Bout well as you.” Kusanagi looked like he had dragged himself across the cavern from the throne. 

“The prince?” Fai asked.

“Here.” Yukito was somehow chipper and Kurogane felt a deep, unending hatred toward him. 

Touya was worse off than any of them. Purple circles dragged under his eyes and he hunched over, as though ready to fall asleep at any moment. 

“Before we leave, we wanted to give you this.” Fai held up his flask. 

All threes' eyes went huge. “Are you sure?” 

“We have enough for the two of us.” Fai gestured to the flask Kurogane still had on him. They barely had enough; but they talked it over and agreed that it was a small exchange for the hospitality they had been shown. 

Yukito held the half-empty flask like it was a holy object. He murmured a prayer over it. “I'll have it added to the well immediately,” he said, running off to get help.

“That was kind of you.” Touya gazed at Fai with fresh eyes.

Fai shrugged. “You were kind to us.”

Yukito joined them, cheeks flushed from running. “I gave it to a guard. Everyone's so happy! For the first time in centuries, we're adding water to the well rather than taking it out.”

The brief interlude was enough to wake Kurogane up properly. He was ready to get going and find the kids. “Let's go.”

They exited Shura through the same tunnel, but quickly branched off into another tunnel that crawled up the mountain.

“This will bring us closer to Yama without having to go outside,” Touya said. “It's too damn hot to be traipsing around.”

Kurogane grunted his agreement. Not to mention, the heat drives the moisture from the body. Yukito had come supplied with two red cloaks matching the rest of the guard. The material was thin and light, perfect for shielding themselves from the sun once they got outside.

The end of the tunnel was covered in a red sheet, the same colour as the robes they wore and the rock of the mountain. Touya peeped through a corner of it. “All clear.” He opened the curtain. 

The heat of the day immediately blazed into the tunnel. There was no avoiding it. Kurogane flipped his hood up and went outside. 

They were standing on top of the mountain range. Kurogane leaned over the side and balked. It was a long way down. He figured it would be better to stay with the group.

As they continued, Kurogane saw two mounds in the rock in the distance and asked Touya what they were.

“That's Old King Ashura and Yasha,” he said. “We're high enough up that we can see the tops of their heads.”

“So we're in Yama's territory now,” Fai said.

“Well.” Touya stopped. “One more step and we will be.” He gestured in front of himself. “Go on.”

Kurogane and Fai passed Touya into Yama. There wasn't anything that looked different than Shura. Just the same. 

“Keep going straight towards that cliff face and you'll find stairs that lead down to Yama's main city. Find those kids and get the hell out,” Touya said. 

“We will. Thanks for the help,” Kurogane said. 

Touya waved. He, Yukito and Kusanagi started to walked off.

Kurogane turned to Fai. “Let's go.”

“Yeah.” Fai was staring at the statues, lost in thought.

“What's up?”

“Nothing, I just thought... .” Fai shook his head. “It's not important. We need to get the kids.”

They continued in the direction Touya told them and almost immediately found a hole with a set of stairs at the base of a stark red cliff face. “Wait,” Fai whispered. He pulled Kurogane off to the side. “Remember how Touya behaved when we first met? It's probably a better idea to sneak in than to waltz in.”

“Good idea. They probably have this area guarded. Let's check for another.”

They kept moving, Kurogane keeping one hand on the wall. The entrance to Shura was well-hidden in the rock face. It might be the same for Yama. His fingers dipped into nothingness and Kurogane stopped short. There was a crack in the wall, too small for either him or Fai. But maybe they could make it bigger...

There was a cut-off sound in the boulder behind them. Kurogane spun and immediately drew Souhi. At the same time, a figure jumped out from behind the boulder and drew a sword. A bolt of electricity stormed down the length of the blade, obscuring the person. 

“I don't want to fight,” the person said. “Just leave.”

“Wait,” said Fai. “Is that Syaoran?”

The electricity petered out to a short electric charge and disappeared. Syaoran, holding the sword, blinked. “Kurogane? Fai? Oh, thank god, it's you!” He dipped behind the boulder and said “It's them!”

Sakura peeked out from behind the boulder. Once she saw who it was she ran out and threw her arms around both of them. Kurogane quickly moved Souhi out of her way. 

“We found you!” Sakura said happily. She backed off, blushing. “Oh, sorry.”

“Don't worry about it. We're so happy to see you again.” Fai looked ready to hug her again.

As Kurogane's body relaxed, he realized how strung-up he'd been since he lost them. He sheathed Souhi. “I'm glad you're alright. Where's the meat bun?”

“Here!” Mokona was standing on top of the boulder. With everyone's attention, she jumped off. She landed on Kurogane's face. “I've missed you, Capt'n Black!” 

Kurogane couldn't reply. He could barely breathe with her on him. He peeled her off and deposited her in Fai's waiting hands. 

While Mokona and Fai cuddled, Kurogane returned his attention to Sakura and Syaoran. They both appeared to be fit and fine wearing blue cloaks. More than fine – Syaoran now had an electric sword. Kurogane decided to start with the simplest explanation. He pointed at Sakura. “You go first.”

“The last time we saw you, we were falling out of the ship. Before we hit the bottom, I asked the wind to help us safely land.”

Kurogane nodded. “That's what we figured.”

“We landed in this big lake. The way the wind moved the water when we landed, well... .” Sakura bit her lip. 

Kero chirped on her shoulder, “Sakura made it look like she could manipulate water!”

Fai laughed. “That's our Sakura.”

Sakura buried her face in her hands.

“The people here worship water,” Syaoran said. “So when they saw the water holding Sakura... .” 

“They think I'm a goddess,” Sakura said between her fingers. 

Kurogane let out a low whistle. “I hope they take care of their gods here.”

“The people here are really nice,” Syaoran said. “They don't have a lot of children, so that was an added bonus. They gave us everything we needed.”

“Including an electric sword.” Kurogane pointed at it. “That's the same sword you got in Hana. I don't remember it having powers like that. And I'm pretty sure that I knotted it so you couldn't unsheathe it.”

It was Syaoran's turn to blush and Sakura's to perk up. “When we first got here, the people were really excited to see us. They swarmed us pretty quickly. Syaoran thought they were going to attack and he took his sword out really fast, like that!” Sakura mimicked the movement.

“He tore right through the tassels,” Meiling said glumly. “They're all ruined now.”

Sakura snapped her fingers at Meiling. “That's another thing! The daemons here are all weird! They're not animals, they're tools.”

“We know,” Fai said. 

“There was an oldowan who said that he'd put stars on my sword if I found him this rare gold staff he was searching for,” Syaoran said. “Mokona talked to Yuuko and she said that she had it. I traded my phone for the staff and gave it to the oldowan.”

“So that's what she did with it,” Fai muttered. When everyone stared at him, he waved a hand. “It's nothing.”

“Your phone? Oh right, that weird box with the pictures.” Kurogane hadn't seen Syaoran look at it as often as he did at the start of the journey. 

“Yeah. I realized that even if I don't have my phone or the pictures, I'll still have memories of home. Besides, I need to stop living in the past and focus on what I can do in the present.” He smiled at Sakura who smiled back.

“So how does it work?”

Syaoran showed Kurogane the stars the oldowan etched on the hilt and scabbard. “When I take my sword out, the last star that completes the pattern is revealed.” As soon as the tiny star on the blade came between the stars on the hilt and scabbard, the blade burst into electricity. Syaoran held the sword out to the side as the electricity crackled. “It lasts for about five seconds.”

“Impressive,” Kurogane said. “You made it your own.”

“What about you?” Sakura asked. “What happened to you guys?”

He and Kurogane told them about their brief stay in Shura. Sakura and Syaoran nodded along at bits in the story, except the part when they talked about Shura's hate for Yama. 

“A lot of that makes sense with what we were told in Yama,” Syaoran said. “Except, that it was Ashura who betrayed Yasha. He claimed he wanted to have peaceful talks with Yasha and stabbed him.”

Two different versions of the same myth. Interesting. Kurogane was about to ask another question when a whistle sounded. 

“Hide!” Kurogane whipped around and whipped out Souhi. Syaoran put a hand on his arm. “Wait a second! It's just Yama coming to get us.”

“We snuck out to look for you,” Mokona said cheerfully.

The kids were the authority on Yama here. Kurogane unwillingly put Souhi away and watched as they were circled. 

It was deja-vu all over again, this time in blue cloaks. The figure at the head of the circle spoke. “Lady Sakura, Syaoran, get back! These Shura are dangerous!”

“We're not really Shura,” Kurogane said. “We're just borrowing their clothes.”

“We also borrowed a lot of their rimon,” Fai said. “But they're not getting that back.”

“They're our friends!” Sakura said. 

As soon as she spoke, the tension eased. The figure at the head of the circle threw back his hood and a couple others followed. His mid-length hair was windswept and unruly, his mouth seemed permanently displeased and his eyes were hostile. Just like another face Kurogane had recently seen.

“You're sure they're no threat, Lady Sakura?” he asked.

“Yes, Kamui. Please.”

Kamui lowered his cross. It wasn't identical to Touya's but the construction was so similar, Kurogane was willing to bet that his daemon was triggered in the same way. 

“It could be a trap, Lady Sakura,” one of the group, a woman with long hair and bangs that obscured her eyes, said. The knife she held between her knuckles was opposite to her calm demeanour. “How did you meet them?”

“We travelled here together,” Syaoran said. “We know they mean no harm.”

“Well, that settles it,” another man in the group said. He put his hands behind his bald head and grinned. 

“Sorata, you shouldn't let your guard down,” the woman said.

“You get too worked up Arasha. You don't always have to be on, ya know?” he responded. “Embrace the calm.”

“If you aren't Shura, why do you have their cloaks?” Kamui said.

“They rescued us and gave us supplies,” Kurogane replied.

“I don't believe that,” Arasha said. “The Shura are a hideous, traitorous bunch of thieves and liars. They would never help anyone other than themselves.”

Fai hummed. “I don't know, they were pretty nice to us.”

Arasha shook her head furiously. “They steal into Yama like rats to take our water.”

“We have enough,” Sorata said.

“That's not the point,” Arasha shot back.

Kamui sighed. “It's too hot to argue outside. Lady Sakura, your invitation extends to your friends. Join us for some drink and food.”

Sakura hesitated to follow along. Kurogane knew what she was thinking – they found each other. Now, they just had to get the Kirikuro and leave. That would be easier done without having Yama trail them.

“It's okay,” he said to Sakura.

She nodded. “We'll go back to Yama.”

They travelled in a single line, Sakura, Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane trapped in the middle. The entered Yama through the stairs Touya had pointed out earlier. Surprisingly, this didn't seem wide enough to be the main entrance to Yama. Touya knew Yama well enough to know the side entrances, too. 

Yama was a cavern city surrounding a large subterranean lake. Unlike Shura, there was no ceiling of rock; the walls shot up to a terrifying height before slopping in slightly and stopping, giving a magnificent view of the sultry red sky. Yama also wasn't as busy Shura. There were less vendors at the market, less hurried traffic through the doors built into the walls. And, Kurogane noted, very few children playing in the streets.

“Where is everybody?” he asked.

“We don't have a large population,” Sorata said. He paused awkwardly.

“Our people have difficulty getting pregnant,” Kamui sounded like the very notion was dull to him. 

“It's a curse put on our people by Ashura,” Arasha said fiercely. 

Sorata waved a hand back and forth. “Of course, of course, everything is his fault.”

Kamui led them through an intricately carved door into what was clearly a throne room. He sat at a long table instead of the throne. The red walls were covered in tapestries and Kurogane recognized one of Yasha standing behind the throne. There was no expression on his face – literally. No eyes or mouth or nose. He stared blankly out at the room, hand held up as though waiting for something to be presented to him.

Kamui snapped at a servant. “Food and drink.” To Kurogane and Fai, he said, “Tell me all about your time in Shura.”

Fai and Kurogane took seats that bracketed the kids. Fai said, “Based on everything you've said so far, it doesn't sound like you'd be entertained by stories about Shura.”

“Maybe.” Kamui took a goblet from a tray brought by a servant. He swirled its contents. “Tell me, how is Prince Touya carrying on?”

“Good, I guess? We were only there for a day.” Kurogane sniffed the goblet the servant placed in front of him. “Oh, rimon.”

Fai took a generous sip out of his goblet. “Amazing. We had this in Shura, too, you know.”

“They don't make good rimon,” Sorata said. “They put too much sugar in theirs. It's made from fruit, it's already sweet enough!”

“It might be sweeter because they don't have extra water to reduce it,” Fai said.

“It's their own fault,” Arasha said. “That's the curse Ashura placed on them.”

“Ashura seems to be doling out a lot of curses,” Fai said. “What's this one about?”

“Ashura cursed his people with a lack of water when he didn't cry from killing Yasha.” Arasha tipped her head to the side. “Do the Shura people not know this?” 

“Considering they told us that it was Yasha who betrayed Ashura, who knows?” Kurogane said.

Arasha slammed her goblet down hotly. Her cheeks were flushed with anger and drink. “They should learn the truth!”

“Honey, don't worry about it.” Sorata looped an arm around her and tugged her in tight. He used the movement to also deftly pour the remaining contents of Arasha's goblet into his own. “They're in the valley, we're high above them in the cliff. We don't need to worry about how bad their education system is.”

“It happened so long ago,” Kamui said. “Who cares.”

The room stilled at once at his statement. Even the servants didn't dare to move. Sorata stared at him, mouth agape.

It was Sakura who broke the silence. “I think if you can be friends with someone, that's good! It's better to have friends than enemies.”

Fai smiled at her. “Well said!”

“If our goddess says it, it can't be that wrong.” Kamui stood up. “I'm sure you want a tour of the city. Sorata can give you one. Arasha, I'd like to go over defence. Two children were able to sneak out today, if you've forgotten.”

“Yes, sir. Right away.” Arasha bolted up and followed Kamui out of the room. 

“Guess that leaves me with you,” Sorata stood up, too. “Grab some horderves and I'll show you around.”

A tour of the city with Sorata was Yama's principal form of entertainment. Sorata had a knack of brushing over important spaces like the royal residence and parliament. Instead, he would devote his time introducing them to little nooks and crannies that held no importance to anyone except him. 

“And over here,” Sorata said, kicking pebbles out of his way as he went, “is where I saw Arasha for the first time. God, she was beautiful – and still is! Tell her I said that – the way she threw her daemon. It's a fire element, you know. When she triggers it and throws it, it blows up a part of something.”

“Sorata and Arasha are married,” Sakura said.

“Oops, guess I forgot to mention that!” Sorata chuckled. “I'm so lucky to have the most beautiful woman in the world as my wife.”

“Speaking of Arasha,” Fai said delicately. “Does everyone hate Shura as much as she does?”

Sorata instantly deflated. “Not really. I mean, we don't like them on account of them stealing our water and everything. But we have enough.” He gestured towards the lake. “And we like to steal it back. Prince Kamui used to be angry at the Shura, too, but he's mellowed out the past year. Arasha, though... she's pretty mad at the curse Ashura placed on our people, on account of us trying to...” Sorata's eyes darted to Sakura and Syaoran. He cleared his throat. “You know... .”

“Make a family?” Fai guessed. 

“Yep!”

Syaoran was blushing. “It's more embarrassing that you didn't say it.”

“Someday, you'll know what we're talking about,” Sorata said, clapping his hand on Syaoran's shoulder.

Syaoran blushed harder. “I already know what you mean!”

“Can we see the lake next?” Fai asked.

“Sure!”

Sorata led them to the lake. It was much deeper than the well in Shura. People freely dipped buckets into it, not caring about spillage. 

“It doesn't rain over the valley,” Sorata said. “We get all the rain, I guess.”

“Probably Ashura's fault, too,” Fai muttered. He pointed to the far side of the lake. “I see it presses right up against the wall. That section of the wall doesn't look like the rest of Yama.”

“I guess not,” Sorata said. “I'm not an engineer though, so I can't tell you anything about it.”

“Ah, I'm just pointing out things I notice,” Fai said. 

“Good peepers.” 

Sorata finished the tour back where they started. He ushered them into the throne room, now devoid of servants. 

He pointed to one of the doors. “That's where Prince Kamui and Arasha are currently meeting.” He pointed to the other door. “That's the servants' hall, where they will kick up a fuss if you try to pass through.” He jerked a thumb at the door they came through. “And I'll be on the other side of here, making sure no one comes in. Knock if you need anything.” He winked and closed the door behind him.

“That's a very roundabout way to say we're trapped,” Fai commented.

Kurogane looked down at Syaoran and Sakura. “How did you escape last time?”

“Last time, they didn't leave a guard at the door,” Syaoran said. “That's probably how they think we escaped.”

Sakura had a palm on the wall and was walking around the room, clearly focusing. “Last time, there was a gap in the wall that I could feel the wind coming in from... ah, here it is!”

She pushed aside the tapestry of Yasha behind the throne. A cut in the rock showed a sliver of red sky.

Fai came up to inspect it. “Good job, Sakura! Although, it's hard to imagine that Kamui wouldn't know this was here.”

The cut was big enough for Mokona, Syaoran and Sakura to pass through with little problem. Kurogane and Fai were a different story. Both were substantially bigger than the kids. Fai managed to squirm and contort his way through. Kurogane got stuck half way through.

“It's no use,” he grunted. He wiggled back into the throne room and spoke to the others through the hole. Akame, who had no problems fitting through, snaked back into the room with him. “I'll have to find my own way through.”

Fai's face dominated the hole. “The only other way to get out involves fighting.”

“Yeah,” Kurogane said. He really didn't want to hurt the Yama. Sure, they were overprotective, but that wasn't really a trait he could fault someone with.

“Kurogane, don't go yet! I have an idea.” Sakura focused her thoughts. She pushed her palm forward and with it, sand fell from the opening. Kurogane felt a puff of wind on his face. He backed up and let Sakura continue to sand down the hole with her wind until it was a size that would accommodate Kurogane.

Kurogane stuck Souhi through, then his head and shoulders. He tilted his hips and pulled himself through. 

“Nice work,” Akame said as she slithered through the hole and slipped up his leg. 

“Yeah,” Kurogane said panting at the exertion. “Good job, Sakura.”

“Thanks.” Sakura folded her hands in front of her. “I want you to know that I'm sorry for what happened with the ship. I promised to keep it steady and I didn't.”

“You're still learning. I mean, look at what you did here.” Kurogane gestured to the enlarged hole in the wall. “I couldn't think of a better second mate to have on my crew.”

Sakura positively beamed.

He smiled. “Now, let's get to the Kirikuro. It's in the valley. We have a long way to go.”

“I'd like to make one stop first,” Fai said. When he saw Kurogane's face, he added, “I promise I'll be quick!”

Kurogane sighed. “Fine. Put your hoods up.”

They started walking, Fai leading the way to the two statues etched on the cliff face. Kurogane saw the face of the one on their side of the bridge and noted that it was Ashura. He paused for a moment, taking in Yasha's hand raised to the sky and Ashura's extended forward to Yasha.

“Weird how they call it Gods' Bridge,” he said. “It's not exactly a bridge. There's no connection.”

“Or water underneath,” Syaoran added. “You could probably walk between them easily. A bridge wouldn't do anything here.”

“There's water on the other side of this.” Fai rapped against the cliff face. “Yama is on the other side of here. It's shaped like a big circle; when we escaped from the throne room, we walked around the city on the outside of the cliff and came here.”

“We came here from Shura through the tunnels,” Kurogane added. “We never got this close to the statues.” He turned to Fai. “Is this all you wanted to see?”

“It's what I thought. Look!” Fai pointed. Kurogane came closer. A star was etched into the rock of Ashura's extended arm. 

“It's a daemon,” Fai said excitedly. 

“No way,” Syaoran breathed. “Can they be this big?” 

“Who knows,” Fai said. He was grinning ear-to-ear at his discover. “Yukito the priest told us that a daemon is manifestation of a tool that helps you accomplish your dream.” He stared at the gap between Ashura and Yasha. “What if your dreams are really big?”

“Look here!” They went to Ashura's shoulder where Sakura was pointing to a crumble of rocks. She pressed her hand against the remains of a star on Ashura. “Some of the statue wore off.”

“The oldowan said that the stars need to be connected without any interruptions to activate a daemon,” Syaoran said. “When this part fell, the daemon must have deactivated.”

“So we just need to replace the star to reactivated it!” Sakura said excitedly. “Where do we get a star?”

“An oldowan can supply it,” Syaoran said. “But I don't think we should go back to Shura. They won't be happy if they find out that we've left.” He ran his fingers across the existing star. “We already know its placement. What if we just make our own?”

“Where are we going to find a star?” Kurogane huffed.

Syaoran turned to Mokona. “Does Yuuko have one?”

“She does!”

“What does she want in exchange?” Sakura asked.

“Yuuko says that since we're helping Yama and Shura, we have to give her something from Yama and Shura.”

They were silent in thinking. Then Fai held up a flask. “What about this? It's rimon we got from Shura. Despite what Sorata says, it tastes exactly the same as the rimon from Yama.”

“That should work! Yuuko loves drinks!” Mokona tapped her feet. An intricate seal appeared out of thin air and hovered off the ground. “Put it there. Yuuko will receive it and send us the star.”

Fai placed the flask on the seal. It was immediately consumed by light. In replacement, a star in gold appeared on the seal. 

Kurogane picked it up and held it to Ashura's shoulder in comparison. “How does she have a star in exactly the right size?” he asked suspiciously.

“Yuuko says it's fate,” Mokona said. “She's had it for a long, long time.”

Kurogane placed the gold star on the etching. It slotted in place, almost like it belonged there. As soon as the star was in place, the statue began to move. 

Kurogane quickly stepped away from the statue to watch with everyone else as Ashura's arm began to move. It rose in the air to clasp Yasha's hand.

“It's a bridge,” Syaoran said.

With Ashura's arm no longer in the way, the water of Yama rushed out of the cave. It plummeted down the space between Ashura and Yasha and quickly began flooding the plateau. 

Kurogane, Fai, Sakura and Syaoran all passed stunned looks between them. Then Fai started to laugh. “Oh gods, are we in trouble.”

Yama's whistle was barely heard over the pounding of water through the new gateway. “We better go,” Kurogane said, but there was no where to run to. It was either the cliff or the new lake forming on the plateau. 

“What did you do?” Arasha cried. She had her knife positioned between her knuckles, ready to throw her daemon when the time came to it. 

“We fixed it?” Fai tried. 

Sorata wrapped beads around his forearm. When the ends touched together, his fist lit up with electricity. “Ah, shit! I really didn't want to fight you guys. How'd you escape anyway?”

Kurogane unsheathed Souhi. “Stay back,” he said to the rest, including Syaoran. If blood had to be spilled, it would be by him and not the kid.

“What are you Yama scum doing?” Red-cloaked Shura had also arrived on the scene. Kusanagi held his claw-daemon out. “What the hell is going on here!”

“Shura!” Arasha turned her attention to Kusanagi.

Kurogane's mind whirled through a thousand scenarios. What if Arasha attacked Shura and he only had Sorata to deal with? What if Shura thought they were the enemy and attacked them, too? Either way, all of Kurogane's solutions ended with death. 

Another of the red cloaks threw back his hood. “Kusanagi, stand down,” Touya said.

“Stop it, Arasha, Sorata.” Kamui approached them. He regarded Touya. “Good day, Prince.”

“And to you, Prince.”

Kusanagi's eyes darted between them. “What's going on here?” he demanded. “Why are you two so damn friendly!”

“I suppose we have no choice but to tell them now,” Kamui said.

Touya sighed. “I wanted to wait until we had a better plan hammered out to tell them. Oh, well.” Touya addressed everyone in the waiting crowd, Shura and Yama alike. “Prince Kamui and I have been meeting in secret for the past year. We've been hoping to forge an alliance between our nations.”

“Impossible.” Arasha narrowed her eyes. “Prince Kamui would never align himself with Shura traitors.”

“If you had said that a year ago, I would have agreed,” Kamui said. “Prince Touya approached me with some interesting terms. As you know, our population is dwindling. In another generation, we won't have enough people to keep our nation afloat. Meanwhile, Shura is rich with people but poor in water. Something we have plenty of.”

“And now we do, too.” Touya looked at the new waterfall. “This isn't the way we intended it to happen. I still feel like Yama has kept their end of the bargain. And we will, too. Prince Kamui, I invite the people of Yama to live in Shura.” Touya's mouth quirked. “Or maybe we should give it a new name?”

“We can find a compromise.” Kamui held out his hand. Touya took it.

“I can't believe it.” Arasha had her knife lowered in shock. “Shura and Yama are friends?”

Sorata deactivated his daemon and hugged her to him. “There is no 'Shura' and 'Yama' now, honey. We're just one nation with one new name. I'm thinking Soratateria?”

“You idiot,” Ashura laughed. She pressed her face into his chest.

“I hear there's a lot of children in Soratateria,” Sorata whispered to her. “I'm sure we'll find our way.”

“Isn't this cozy.” Kusanagi sighed and put away his daemon. “Guess we won't be needing fighters anymore.”

“No,” Touya agreed. “Children will grow up with a new dream.”

“Look!” Sakura pointed out at the lake. 

The Kirikuro was floating on it. One side of the ship was still covered in red dust, but otherwise seemed exactly the same. It bobbed on the surface, waiting for its crew to come aboard. 

Kamui squinted into the distance. “What is that?”

“It's what we've been travelling on,” Syaoran explained. “We've been sailing through the night sky.”

“Makes sense that a bunch as weird as you travel on something as weird as that.” Touya smiled at them. “Get going.”

They made their good-byes, Fai trying and failing to entice another bottle of rimon from Kusanagi. The Kirikuro had become stuck in a slight dent in the rock wall. Kurogane carefully climbed down into the Kirikuro, then he and Fai helped the kids in as well. 

“Great,” Kurogane said once everyone was boarded. “Now how do we leave this earth?” 

“I can do it,” Sakura said. Her face was hardened in determination, a cute contrast to her usual self. “I know I can this time.”

Kurogane gave the signal to unfurls the sails. “It's all yours,” he said to Sakura.

She breathed deep and the wind obeyed. A current of wind picked them up, then another gust filled the sails and pushed them forwards and upwards. They sailed into the red sky, waving good-bye to those left on the cliff.

“An odd world with odd daemons,” Akame said to Kurogane.

“I'm sure we'll see more of that as we travel,” Kurogane said to her. 

As the sky turned from red to black, Kurogane went up to Syaoran. “Did you get what you needed?”

Syaoran held his sheathed sword in his hands. Meiling turned into a sparrow to land on the sword and look up at him. He smiled. “Yes, I did. What I needed was a reason to unsheathe the sword. And now I have one.” He looked at Sakura, still busy commanding the winds.

“It looks like she found something, too.” Kurogane said. He positioned himself behind the wheel. “Now, if there aren't anymore distractions, let's head straight for Fai's earth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see the last chapter for voting information.


	3. Home

“Go left!” came Syaoran's call from the fighting top.

Kurogane pulled the wheel hard to the right. 

“A little further,” he called down encouragingly. Then, “there!”

Fai ran to the edge of the ship. “I can see it,” he said breathlessly.

It wasn't long before Kurogane could see it, too. His earth had been beautiful in blue, dotted green, swathed in white. Fai's home was the only he met that made him question who had the most beautiful planet. It was a circle of impossible blue, hazy white clouds giving it depth and countless shades.

“It's the same colour as your eyes,” Kurogane called out to Fai. Why there was an edge of accusation in his tone, he didn't know, but it felt justified. 

Fai's gaze was steadily locked on his fast-approaching home. His shoulders tensed when Kurogane talked, though he refused to turn around.

“You can't keep hiding when we bring you home,” Kurogane said. “You'll have to face the truth, whatever it is.”

“How is it that you always know what I least want said?” Fai turned then, his smile as watery as his eyes. Whatever Fai's secret was, Kurogane hadn't realized it how deep the dagger ran. Kurogane felt guilty for turning the handle.

Before he could apologize, they hit the cerulean planet. They were going so fast, the impact shook the ship. Strips of wood went flying from the front, one nearly hitting Kurogane. 

“I've got it!” Sakura called. She stood at the front of the ship, their maidenhead, unafraid of the fall. Without slowing down – if anything, they accelerated – she balanced the ship and pushed it through the planet's barrier. 

The wind clipped the sides of the Kirikuro as Kurogane fought to keep the ship straight until Fai pointed, “There!” and he was steering hard through the cloud cover and into still waters. 

This earth was so quiet, Kurogane was afraid to breath. Any small action would ruin the picturesque image of deep, indigo waters and thin fog. Who knew what would come after them if they broke the perfect scene?

“That way,” Fai pointed again. How he could distinguish anything in the endless fog, Kurogane had no idea. But there was no protest from Syaoran climbing down from the fighting top, so with the help of Sakura's wind, Kurogane followed Fai's lead.

Mokona bounced off the railing by Fai and went to the next closest person – in this case, Kurogane. “I don't like this,” she whispered, balanced on his shoulder and tugging on his ear for support. 

Akame slid closer to her. “Something's wrong,” she agreed.

Kurogane said nothing, just stared at Fai's back.

Like blowing the steam from a cup of hot tea, the fog began to depart. A city began to take its place, built of cold blue brick on a white cliff-edge. The city was as still as the ocean had been; Kurogane strained to spot movement of people through the city streets or in the windows of the buildings, but saw nothing. There weren't even birds circling overhead.

Kurogane spotted a small harbour, the city barely dipping a finger into the ocean. Modest fishing vessels took up the few spaces available for docking. It was quite unusual that a city of this size wouldn't have any vessels fit for long-distance trading. But maybe no one wanted to trade with them.

They stopped at the very end of the dock, the only place for a ship the size of the Kirikuro. He kept an eye out for a port master to give coin to. The harbour was as dead and lifeless as the sea. 

After Syaoran tied the ship to a peg and Kurogane and Sakura had finished with the sails, they all looked at Fai for the next instructions. He had redressed in the same flowing white robe with fur trim he had originally worn at the witch's place. Mokona made to jump on his shoulder. Fai caught her in the air and placed her on the deck with a pat on her head.

“I don't have words enough to thank you for what you've done.” He had to stop to clear his throat. He fixed his smile on like a mask and continued. “The journey wasn't as smooth as I thought it would be, and we've gone through some trials. Although, we've become stronger from them.” He looked at Syaoran and then Sakura, and for that moment, his smile became genuine. 

“Mokona, please tell Yuuko how grateful I am for her help.”

“She knows.” 

“And I'm grateful to you for being a strong little Mokona.”

“Fai,” Mokona cried.

“And to you,” Fai looked at Kurogane. Akame slithered to his shoulder and Fai shot her a quick smile, too. “I'll remember you, Captain Black and Akame.”

Kurogane said nothing.

Fai shifted under his robe uneasily. It was the first time Kurogane had seen him express any form of discomfort. Kurogane's hands balled into fists. 

“My journey with you has ended,” Fai said. “The rest is my own. I wish you –” he broke off. Cleared his throat. “I wish you safe travels back.”

“Fai,” Sakura started, but Fai talked over her.

“I understand that you may wish to resupply before heading back to your earth. I recommend that you do so quickly. You shouldn't stay here long.”

“But you're staying,” Syaoran protested. 

“I need to face my fate.” Fai pulled up his hood, obscuring his face. “Whether I like it or not.”

“Stop him,” Akame whispered.

“I can't,” Kurogane said. It wouldn't be fair to Fai.

Sakura teared up. “Please don't go.” Kero pecked at her hair, trying to be some sort of comfort.

Fai didn't hesitate as he hopped off the ship onto the harbour. They all watched him until he turned down a street and was out of sight. 

Sakura collapsed to the deck sobbing. She cupped Kero in her hand and nuzzled him, trying her best to choke back her tears. Syaoran watched on, his head down and fists clenched. Meiling was staring at Kurogane from his shoulder, as though expecting him to take some kind of action. 

Kurogane walked below decks. 

“Some people are born stupid,” he muttered to Akame. He looked around the room he had shared with Fai, how Fai's usually messy bed was neatly made for once. Kurogane grumbled, rifling through the cabinet. “No surprise, I'm one of them.”

Kurogane reemerged on the deck, his hands full of clothing. “Stop crying or your eyes will freeze shut.”

Kero twittered angrily at him. Syaoran was about to retort too, until he spotted what Kurogane had. 

Sakura wiped her face off on the edge of her shirt. “I hate crying, because it never accomplishes anything.”

“Did it make you feel better?” Kurogane asked.

“Yes.” Sakura noticed Kurogane's load. “What's that?”

“Then all those tears did you some good,” Kurogane said. “Now you're ready to chase after that idiotic mage.” He tossed a thick coats at Sakura and Syaoran. “These should keep us warm for now.”

The strangeness of this city by the sea filled Kurogane with dread. The hollow secrets that it held. The chill so bitter that it effected even Akame. No doubt that this was Fai's home. Kurogane should have never let him out of his sight.

A thin dusting of snow swept back and forth across the street, the wind's plaything. They were haunted by the sounds of doors closing, the slap of feet across the pavement. Once, Sakura swore that she heard the giggle of children, but when they turned into the alley, it was empty.

Half way up the mountain, there was a pub. A light chased itself behind stain glass windows.

“It's the best lead we have,” Syaoran said. 

Kurogane didn't respond. He put himself in front of the kids and opened the door to the pub, hand on his sword.

The door swung open with a long, low creak. Inside, rows of empty benches with untapered candles crammed together in front of an unlit fireplace. Behind the bar lined with dusty bottles, a man wiped clean mugs.

He didn't seem to take any notice of the them. Kurogane sat at the bar and only then did the man look up. 

“Oh, it's a nippy night out there,” he said. “Come, come, I'll give ya something to warm yo'self up.”

“Sure,” Kurogane said. There didn't seem to be any need to mention that it was day, not night; the bartender went about preparing Kurogane a drink in a rhythmic, practised fashion, but his gaze never seemed to really settle on anything in particular.

Syaoran and Sakura settled at a bench behind him, watching. The bartender was paying them no attention – if he even knew they existed – but they had their daemons hidden in the pockets of their coats all the same. 

Akame herself was twined around Kurogane's neck, kept snug with a scarf. In times like this, when oddness became something to be frightened of and a creeping sensation pulled at the fine hair on his arms, he felt reassured at her heavy, steady presence. This part of him was safe.

When the bartender delivered the drink, Kurogane held it to his lips without taking a sip. He knew enough about magic to know not to tempt it. 

“It's good,” Kurogane said. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem,” the bartender said, busying himself again with the spotless mugs. “Don't get many customers anymore.”

“Why not?”

“Not many people left in this town,” the bartender huffed. “They all left for somewhere better. Or... .”

“Or?” Kurogane prompted.

“'S nothing.” The bartender scrubbed furiously at a mug. He finally placed it on the counter with a loud thung. “'S rumours, nothing more.”

“About what?”

“A great beast. A bird as large as ten horses, blue as the cold and with claws somethin' fierce. Rumours are it's been taking people.” The bartender shook his head so hard Kurogane was afraid it would fall off. “'S not true! The king wouldn't let that happen.”

“Of course not.” 

Placated, the bartender instantly snapped to calm. He picked up the dishtowel again, this time scrubbing at the counter. Kurogane noted that all his hard work did nothing to remedy the residue of a spilled drink that had permanently stained the wooden countertop.

He leaned forward. “Who's the king?” 

“Ashura.” The bartender gazed lovingly at his besmirched counter. “The greatest king we ev'r had. His daemon's a great bird, big enough to cover the whole city when there's a bad storm. We all love him.”

“I see.” 

“Better than that bastard prince. The bartender's mood shifted immediately. He threw the dishtowel down at the counter. “Too weak, that's what Ashura said. He sent that miserable prince a long, long ways away.”

Kurogane was afraid of his next question. It nagged at him and of course, Kurogane was too stubborn to leave without having it answered. “Where's your daemon?”

The bartender finally looked at him. Kurogane tried not to reel back in revulsion. The man's eyes were hollow, giving vision right to the back of his skull. “What's a daemon?”

“Nothing. Never mind. Let's go,” he called to the kids, eager to herd them out before they got a glimpse of the bartender. 

“You're welcome for the drink,” the bartender called angrily after them. At least, that's what Kurogane thought he said. The second they were over the threshold, his voice gave out along with the light inside.

“What was wrong with him?” Sakura was shaking. 

Kurogane still had his hand on her shoulder, so he gave it a comforting squeeze. He never felt quite right when it came to the kids, always afraid that he'd say something wrong and make them hate him forever. He thought about what Fai would say – a truth dressed up so prettily, it might as well be a lie. Kurogane preferred his truths ugly, unfettered, ready for the damage they brought.

“Nothing good,” he said. “We need to find Fai. Quickly.”

Syaoran pulled out his rashinban. “This should be easy. There's only one thing on my mind.” He closed his eyes. “Where's Fai?”

The rashinban led them up the mountain, to the palace. It was constructed of the same pale blue ice as the rest of the buildings, though shined to such a polish that the sun reflected off of it in a thousand shards. The front facade was a of a massive bird, the main door caged in her outstretched wings.

Already, Kurogane was withdrawing his sword. He heard Syaoran behind him do the same. 

“Sakura, stay behind Syaoran.”

Sakura held out her arms so Mokona, previously travelling on Kurogane's shoulder, could jump up. “Let's go get Fai.”

They entered. The ceiling in the palace extending all the way up to the roof, making an endless line from the floor to the sky. There were no decorations, allowing the simple beauty of the construction shine. After the anteroom, they entered the main room, and that's where they saw Fai lying on the ground, bleeding, a dark man in white towering over his immobile form. 

“Fai!” Kurogane sprung into action, darting across the room and slashing at the man. He thought that his sword would surely dig into him, but at the last possible moment, the man moved back, halfway across the room.

At least he was away from Fai. Kurogane turned to look and his heart jumped to his throat. 

He was still breathing. That was something to be thankful for. Clumsy, shallow breaths disturbed the pool of blood his head rested in. Sakura and Syaoran immediately joined them, Sakura bending over Fai to do what she could. 

“Sakura?” Fai's voice sounded rough, like it had been robbed from him and he was trying to steal it back. His eyes swam into focus. “Syaoran?” He met Kurogane. “Kurogane? No.” He tried to stand, Sakura stabilizing him when his supporting hand slipped in the blood. “You need to get out of here. You need to –” 

“Save your breath.” Kurogane turned away, unable to witness the scene any longer. “We didn't bring you all this way just to deliver you to your grave. Who are you?” he asked the man.

He smiled. “My name is Ashura. I'm the king of this land and Fai's beloved uncle.” His lips barely moved when he spoke. His dark features peeked out of a face so pale it might as well be a skull. There was kindness in his eyes, superficial and hollow, so similar to Fai's fake smile that Kurogane immediately knew where Fai had learned that trick. 

Fai's only lies had been about himself. But there was an aura that this Ashura gave off that made Kurogane think his entire life had been a carefully constructed lie, one he fought to maintain even with his kingdom crumbling around him.

“King of what?” Kurogane asked. “There's no one left outside. Or have you stayed in here for so long, you don't even know that?”

“This palace is a shelter,” Ashura said, calmly, steadily, like Fai wasn't bleeding out behind Kurogane. “The beast killed all the people on this earth.”

Kurogane tightened the grip on his sword. “What beast?”

“The beast's name is Ashura.” He smiled. “This palace did nothing to imprison me. Nothing can hold me back. I tried to save Fai, never thinking he'd return.”

“You have his daemon. Of course he'd come back.”

“Fai could have lived the rest of his life happily far away from me, only giving up half of himself for that security, that peace. His stubbornness is no fault of mine.”

“I had to stop you.” Fai was on one knee. A thick slash of red tore through his chest in the exact spot Kurogane had tried to aim on Ashura before. “I couldn't let you continue to steal the life of our people just to extend your own. You broke my heart when I found out what you were doing.”

“I didn't break your heart. I kept it. Always by my side.” Ashura extended a hand up. Kurogane looked to the glass ceiling, expecting the attack to come from above. Instead, the action was taking place inside Ashura. Two wings peeled from his back, one black, one white. As they grew in size, they separated from Ashura, and it became apparent that they were separate beings: A black hawk holding a scrambling stork in place with its claws. They filled the giant room and the stork's struggle to be free set off gusts of wind that threatened everyone in the room except Ashura. 

“Celes!” Fai cried out. He stretched a hand to it. The movement threw him off balance and he fell into Sakura. 

“I knew how much you loved me once your daemon settled in its form. Imitation is devotion, after all. Though as much as I tried to imitate your love, it could never quell the beast within me. Instead, I raised you to become strong enough to defeat us. I suppose,” Ashura smiled benevolently at Fai, “I failed in that, too.”

Celes went limp in the clutches of Ashura's daemon. 

“You've said more than enough,” Kurogane growled. He pointed his sword at Ashura.

Ashura was nonplussed. “Only a magic-user can beat me. Your sword will shatter with one swing.”

“You have a nasty habit of underestimating people. Instead of marvelling at your own power, it's time you opened your eyes and see what we're capable of.” 

“Should we kill him?” Akame whispered in his ear. “Remember what Princess Tomoyo said.” 

Kurogane didn't know, so he didn't answer. Instead he rushed Ashura. Ashura blocked his blow with his arm. Kurogane's sword couldn't even penetrate the flimsy metal gauntlets he wore for show. Must be magic.

But he was stubborn. He felt the delicious slice of battle cut down his back. Akame shivered with delight around his neck as he unleashed a series of rapid attacks that at least pushed Ashura back, away from Fai and the kids. 

“I see,” Ashura said, gracefully jumping away from Kurogane. “So you were born to kill. That's your fate in life.”

Kurogane's intuition told him to shift his stance to be more defensive. “I don't know anything about this 'fate' everyone's always going on about. I do what I need to. That's all.”

“That kind of thinking will get you killed.” Ashura flicked his hand and four silver bullets shot out. Kurogane was able to dodge two, block one and was forced to absorb the last in the fleshy part of his thigh. It stung like a beast, but wouldn't impede him – Kurogane had been through worst. 

It was, however, a distraction. Up above, Ashura's demon let out a piercing cry and dove at Kurogane. With Celes still in its claws, it pecked at Kurogane and successfully buffeted him about with her wings. 

Disoriented, Kurogane slashed and slashed at the storm of white feathers, until his sword finally met contact and produced a thin stream of blood. Ashura's daemon took flight again, putting distance between them. 

Kurogane was left worse for wear. The massive bird had managed to gouge a few more holes in him on top of bruises. Akame's flickering tongue tickled his collar bone. He stood up and positioned himself in a new stance against Ashura.

“Still going, are we?” Ashura shook his head, almost fondly, his long black hair rippling with the movement. “If this is the way you wish to die, so be it.”

Kurogane heard a choked sound behind him. Akame lifted from her place and checked over his shoulder. “It's Fai,” she said. “He's trying to stand up.”

“Stay down,” Kurogane ordered.

“He's not listening.” 

Sure that neither Ashura nor his daemon were about to make any sudden moves, Kurogane risked a glance at Fai.

He was struggling against his wounds, fighting to stand with consideration effort from Syaoran and Sakura. He took a step towards the fight, to Kurogane and Ashura and Celes.

“Idiot,” Kurogane said. “If you can walk, get out of here to safety.”

Fai shook his head. What started as a small movement became more violent as he gained the focus to be persistent. “Don't fight him. Kurogane, it's me he wants. Leave here with the kids.”

“No. You had your chance. I'll finish him.”

“You can't kill him.” Fai's voice cracked. “Kurogane, look at yourself.”

Kurogane could feel every bruise pulsing on his body, could feel his cuts like red-hot slashes. He could also feel a drive to fight, to kill, to succeed and to defend fill him all the way to his fingertips. He couldn't sense the same drive from Fai. He turned around fully, to see Fai's desperation, Syaoran's consternation and Sakura's worry.

He smiled.

“I'm doing better than you three, at least. We can't leave you here, Fai, because you're ready to be eaten by that asshole. I'm ready to fight, for myself, for you, for all of us.” He paused. “It's a terrifying feeling. Fighting with comrades on the battlefield.”

Fai was stunned. “Kurogane.”

“So just stay back there and see what your captain can do.” He turned back to Ashura who watched on passively.

Kurogane bent down so Akame could slither to the ground. “Stay with him,” Kurogane said. “He needs you more than I do.”

Akame did as she was told. Because he wasn't able to stray too far from her, his fighting range would be severely limited. He took his stance and waited for Ashura to attack.

Instead, Ashura frowned. “You'll give him your daemon? He could harm it, you know.”

“He won't. My daemon is my heart. I know that Fai will treat my heart gently, because his own has been trampled on for so long.”

“You're an idiot,” Fai said, shaking his head. “A damn, damn idiot, doing all this for me. Well, that means I have to stop slacking off.”

Ashura cocked his head. “Oh?”

Kurogane grinned. “You hear that? Sounds like Fai's got his second wind.”

“Then I'll kill you both,” Ashura said simply. He raised his hands, readying for another bullet-style attack. Before he had a chance to move, a loud squawk echoed above them.

Ashura's daemon was struggling to keep hold of Celes, who began swinging herself back and forth in an effort to be free. She stabbed hard into the leg of Ashura's daemon, forcing her to relinquish her vice-like hold with that claw.

Kurogane felt pressure on his shoulder and Akame sneaking into her place around his neck. Fai leaned heavily on Kurogane. “I can't let you show me up in front of the kids.”

Kurogane grinned. Fai was beaten, bloody, but that heavy look he always carried in his eyes had eased substantially. Some of the tension in his own body lessened in tune with Fai. “Then do something, you defunct mage.”

“Gladly.” Fai held his hand up, in much the same, graceful way Ashura did before his attack. He spread his fingers a part and aimed upward, at Ashura's daemon. 

Magic sliced through the air, cutting deep into Ashura's daemon. As Ashura's daemon reeled back in pain and released Celes, Ashura bowed over with a cry. 

Kurogane left Fai and flew across the room, his sword invisible as he whipped it into Ashura. He was stopped by a barrier. Kurogane kept pushing his sword into it, feeling a slight give. 

Ashura looked up at him with hate in his eyes. “You can't win with cheap tricks.”

“Oh yeah? Who's on the one on ground?” Kurogane kept pushing his sword into it, feeling a slight give.

Akame said, “Kurogane, I feel strange.”

“It's impossible.” Ashura stood up behind the barrier, collecting himself. Above them, his daemon and Celes clashed with sickening shrieks. “You're not strong enough.”

“You know how many people have told me that before!” Kurogane yelled. “How many I proved wrong!”

“Kurogane,” Akame said.

“You were born with an incredible daemon. But instead of learning how to work with it, you let it control you. There's no help for someone like you.” Akame left her place around Kurogane's neck and worked down his sword arm.

Ashura smiled, showing the darkness within him. “There was no need to control it. This is what I wanted all along.” With a single sweep of his arm, Ashura sent Kurogane sailing across the room. 

In rapid flashes, he saw Ashura's daemon slam Celes into the wall, saw Syaoran withdraw his lightening blade against Ashura, saw Sakura attracting Ashura's daemon's attention when she tried to use her wind against it.

No, Kurogane thought.

He was falling. He couldn't do anything, despite how much he wanted to. He couldn't protect the people who wanted, no matter how much he tried.

Akame bit into the back of Kurogane's sword hand with her fangs. She told Kurogane not to worry, so he didn't, just felt the rush of Akame becoming bigger, much bigger, her body evolving and her blood fiercer. She cradled him in her long body so he didn't hit the floor or wall, rather was placed down gently on his feet. 

Sakura put her hand to her mouth. “Kurogane.”

Mokona's eyes grew huge. “Whaa, what just happened!”

“Is that... .” Syaoran lowered his sword. “A dragon?”

Ashura shouted, “Impossible!”

Akame nudged her large head against Kurogane. He patted it with his free hand, feeling her new horns with wonder. “Did it hurt?”

“Not really,” she said. She thudded her tail against the floor so hard she left a dent. “Feels kind of liberating, to be honest.”

“I hope I wasn't the one holding you back.”

“Of course not.” Akame nuzzled her head against Kurogane. Her scales were warm, just this side of bearable, a stark contrast to the cold air. “We're here together.” 

“Thank you, for fighting with me.” They turned their attentions to Ashura.

“Do it,” Fai said.

Kurogane raced past Syaoran and Sakura, past Fai to Ashura. Akame rushed into Ashura's daemon, knocking it aside, then battering it roughly with her tail. 

Ashura no longer blocked Kurogane's blows with his own body, instead conjuring thin barriers that Kurogane sliced through. His nails grew silver and long. He tried to slice when Kurogane stumbled, but Fai's magic was there, gripping hard into his arm and jerking him aside.

“I'm here with you,” Fai called a few paces back. 

“Finally,” Kurogane muttered under his breath. He moved to attack again, almost getting a hit now that Ashura had to defend against both him and Fai.

Through their connection, Akame laughed. She was enjoying causing havoc in her new form and Kurogane was also propelled through the rush. Ashura's daemon, flew higher and with a sweep of its wing, rained black bullets down on Akame.

Before Kurogane could yell at Fai to protect the kids, before he could duck for cover himself, Akame opened her mouth and spat out a stream of fire that melted the bullets before they could meet their trajectory.

At the same time, Kurogane's sword lit ablaze, and he used the opportunity to dig it deep into Ashura's shoulder.

“Impossible,” Ashura gasped.

“I thought you wanted to die.” Kurogane dug the blade in deeper. “So die already!”

Ashura grabbed the sword by the blade. He pulled it out himself and with strength that could only be fuelled by magic, tossed it and Kurogane holding onto the sword back. 

Fai immediately stepped up to take his place against Ashura. Kurogane stayed lying on his back a moment longer to catch his breath. He watched the scene above him, of the two daemons struggling against each other. No doubt Ashura could feel the aerial fight inside him just as Kurogane could. Celes, no longer stunned, joined the battle with Akame. She talked to Akame and they planned an attack.

“That would work,” Kurogane said.

“She says, then get off the floor!” Fai yelled back at Kurogane. 

Kurogane rolled over, getting to the edge of the room and yelling at the kids to do the same. Syaoran pulled Sakura to the doorway, the safest place for them with what was about to happen. 

Akame and Celes manoeuvred so that they were below Ashura's daemon. Ashura's daemon held her wings at the ready, preparing another hail of bullets. Akame and Celes rushed her, each smashing into a wing. They knocked her upwards and kept going, hit the ceiling and kept going up, up into the sky. The glass that formed the ceiling broke into millions of shards that fell on the people below. 

Ashura put up a barrier to protect himself from the overhead assault. But the barrier only reached above him. Fai threw himself into a magic attack that refracted off the falling glass around Ashura. Ashura was hit from every imaginable angle. He dropped in a heap.

Akame and Celes returned with Ashura's daemon, both driving it into the ground and pinning it there. 

Fai fell to one knee. Kurogane took that as his cue. He ran up to Ashura's prone form and stabbed him in the uninjured shoulder. He pulled out, making Ashura produce a bubbly grunt. The blade danced over Ashura's neck. 

“I know. Impossible.” He prepared to drive the sword into Ashura's prone throat. 

“Wait!” Akame called across the room and through their connection. 

Kurogane instantly halted the blade. “Why?” But he knew what she was about to say.

“Princess Tomoyo told you not to kill anyone needlessly,” Akame said.

Kurogane felt her trepidation acutely. “If anyone deserves to die, it's this guy.” But it was a lost argument. 

“We can take his magic,” Akame said. “If we know how, we can take it from him and he can never threaten anyone again.”

“Is that possible?” Kurogane asked Fai behind him, his eyes never leaving Ashura panting on the ground.

“Yes,” Fai said. His tone was neutral, careful. Kurogane didn't want to risk looking away from Ashura to see what Fai was lying about.

“How?”

“I can think of a better way to make sure he never hurts anyone again.”

Ashura jolted with a cry of pain. Kurogane watched, puzzled. He didn't do anything. 

There was a loud, low keening sound, heartbroken and lost. Ashura's daemon disappeared into white light. Celes's beak was black with blood.

Ashura went limp under Kurogane.

“This is my fate,” Fai said. He was swaying slightly, shocked at the blood staining Celes, even though he knew she would kill the other daemon. “I'm not running away from it.”

“Fai.” Kurogane left Ashura's dead body to grip Fai's arm.

“I'm okay. Wait.” Fai shook his head, a wry smile playing on his lips. “I guess it takes a while for bad habits to break. Kuro-Kuro, will you help me?”

“Yes,” Kurogane said without hesitation. 

Fai covered Kurogane's hand with his own. “Thank you.”

“Kurogane, Fai!” Syaoran and Sakura were running, crunching on the glass that covered the floor. Mokona was waving from Sakura's arms. Kero and Meiling flew in their sparrow forms, checking out Akame and meeting Celes. 

“Are you going to stay like that?” Mokona asked Akame.

“I don't think it'll stick,” Akame said. 

Sakura was staring at Ashura's corpse. She turned her sad eyes to Fai. “I'm so sorry. I had no idea what you were carrying in your heart.” She hugged Fai.

“Sakura.” Fai pressed his face to her hair and started crying. “I'm the one who should be apologizing for dragging you all into this.”

“You told us to run,” Syaoran said. “I'm glad we didn't listen.”

Fai pushed Sakura away. “I'm sorry,” he hiccuped. “I don't want to cry all over you.”

“It's fine,” Sakura said. “You should cry. Kurogane taught me that crying is good if it makes you feel better.”

“If you learn one thing today, learn that,” Kurogane said to Fai. He was suddenly exhausted. By habit, he reached for Akame around his neck. Of course, she wasn't there.

Through their connection, Kurogane felt that Akame wished she was her small, serpentine form again. You will be. Enjoy being a dragon while you can was the message Kurogane sent back to her.

Instead, he let his fingers graze against the back of Fai's hand. Fai, still crying with his face pressed into Celes's feathery breast, immediately gripped his fingers. Kurogane, surprised, touched, honoured and slightly embarrassed, let it happen.

They heard a loud noise from outside. Then a low groan, and another, similar noise.

“What's happening?” Syaoran asked.

Fai seemed to be focusing on something, either deep within himself or very far away. His tears still glittered on his face as he snapped back to reality. “This earth is sinking.”

“What? That's impossible –” Syaoran stopped himself before he said anything else. “Alright, this planet, hovering in space, is sinking. Alright. Okay. Let's get on the ship and leave, I guess?”

“How can an earth sink?” Sakura asked.

Syaoran's face dropped. “Oh, that's not a normal thing here?”

“This planet died long ago,” Fai said. “Our people have been using a considerable amount of magic to keep it together, and to keep this little corner of earth livable. As he killed, Ashura must have taken that burden on himself. But now that he's dead... .”

Sakura gasped. “The earth will fall.”

Kurogane looked grim. “We need to get back to the ship. Now.”

“That sounds like a job for a dragon,” Akame said. Kurogane didn't get what she meant until she reminded him that she could fly now.

“Yes, everyone get on Akame's back.” Kurogane helped up Syaoran, who held on to Akame's flowing whiskers at her request, and then Sakura, who held on to Syaoran without prompting. Their daemons fluttered next to them, still in bird forms. 

Kurogane turned to Fai. “You next.”

“No.”

“I am not arguing with you.” The earth was trembling underneath Kurogane's feet. “We don't have time for this.”

“You go ahead with the kids to the ship and sail off into the night sky. I'll stay here and use my magic to keep this earth together long enough for you to get away safely.” A shadow of a playful smile twitched at Fai's lips. “I'm not arguing with you.”

Kurogane got close enough to Fai to haul him onto Akame if it came to it. “We didn't journey this far just to lose you.”

“You won't. I promise.”

Kurogane was a stubborn man. That stubbornness had placed him in the royal guard and lost him Tomoyo's favour, had sent him travelling across the universe and loving an idiotic mage the entire time. 

Fai was a liar. The entire time they had been together, Kurogane hadn't known Fai to utter a single truth. But he was now.

Kurogane stepped back. “The universe is a big place. Don't get lost.”

“I'll just follow your yelling,” Fai smiled, tired yet true. 

Kurogane climbed onto Akame, settling just behind her head. 

“We'll wait for you!” Sakura called back to Fai.

Fai waved.

Akame climbed towards the sky, careful with those on her back and to make sure the two bird daemons could match her speed. As she sailed over the city, they spotted large chunks of the ice cliff falling into an angry sea, consuming the earth's last city.

Syaoran called out, “the ship!”

By some miracle, it had survived mostly intact. The dock the ship was tied to already had already sunken into the water. If the ship wasn't untied soon, it would follow. 

Akame stopped close enough to the ship to allow her passengers to board. She cut the rope tying the boat to the failing harbour and Kurogane, Syaoran and Sakura readied the ship for launch.

Syaoran was fixing the last of the sails as Kurogane shouted for Sakura to get ready. He quickly scanned the crumbling city, searching for any sign of Fai. Nothing.

“Let's go,” Kurogane called.

“We're missing Fai!” Sakura called back from her position at the front of the ship.

“He'll find us.” Because Kurogane never lied, Sakura called up her wind. The ship lifted in the air. 

Akame positioned herself underneath the ship, telling Kurogane that she'd help. The world seemed to be sucking in on itself. Kurogane hoped her added effort would be enough to leave it behind.

The ship rocked violently side-to-side as they ascended through the sky into the night. Syaoran clutched Mokona and the railing, the only thing he could do. Meiling was at the prow in her tortoise form, encouraging Sakura on.

The sky was turning grey with turmoil. Even after piercing the cloud cover, Kurogane couldn't glimpse the night. There was just a small circle, not too far off where he spotted the star-filled blackness.

He steered the ship there, praying they would reach it in time. Sakura seemed to pick up on what he was doing and called for more wind, had it push harder at their sails. Even though she was still new to her form, Akame used all her power to edge the ship on faster. 

Just before they reached the slim opening, someone landed next to Kurogane. 

“About time,” Kurogane grunted. “We almost missed you.”

“When have I ever been on time?” Fai said.

They passed into the night. The circle of sky closed as soon as they were through, Fai's magic no longer able to keep it open. Once they were sailing in the night sky without the death of an earth slowing them down, they shot through the endless black, stars blurring as they passed. 

“This should be far enough,” Fai called.

Sakura's wind ceased and she crumbled at the prow. Syaoran immediately ran to her and she leaned against him gratefully. 

“I'm just tired,” she said.

“You did amazing,” Syaoran said, not letting her go.

Akame returned to the topside of the ship. In a blaze of flame, her dragon form burned away until she was back to her serpentine self. 

Kurogane caught her and wrapped her around his shoulders.

“We thought we were too old to change.” She nuzzled his chin.

“Will you miss being a dragon?” Kurogane asked.

“I can still feel burning inside of me.” Once she said it, Kurogane could feel it too, a warm flame gently burning in his sternum. “I can turn into a dragon again, I know it.”

“That's terrifying,” Fai said with a smile. Celes's wings extended from his back. As Kurogane watched, Celes beat her wings a couple times to let Fai fly off the deck and drift back down. 

“So you can fly now,” Kurogane said.

“Yeah.” Fai was lighter, his face less worried and pinched. He was like a completely different person than the man Kurogane met on that rainy day back on his earth. “I always could, but it seemed like I had forgotten until just now.”

Kurogane reached out, paused to make sure Fai was okay with what he was about to do. He let his fingers trail along Celes's wings, marvelling at their softness. Fai sucked in a breath.

“It's nice to meet you, Celes,” Kurogane said.

“She's pleased with you, too.”

“Kurogane! Fai!” Syaoran called from the deck. “Sakura's too tired to climb the stairs. Please come down here!”

“Of course!” While Kurogane took the stairs down to the main deck, Fai flipped over the banister and drifted down. Clearly, he was enjoying having his daemon back.

Sakura was leaning against Syaoran, who seemed perfectly happy to act as her crutch. Kero was asleep in her hair, recuperating from their ordeal. Sakura looked over Fai with tired eyes. “I'm so happy for you.”

“Thank you. Thank you all.” Fai choked up. Celes's wings cupped around him like a hug. “If it wasn't for you, I would never have gotten Celes free.”

“You know we'd do anything for you two,” Kurogane said. 

“Thank you –” Fai started, but was immediately distracted. “It's starting.”

They followed where he was looking. Far, far away, the earth where they had just been, Fai's earth, was sinking. Piercing white light shot out from the centre of the earth, breaking it into millions of pieces that blew away into the night.

“That's that,” Fai said shakily. Celes's wings turned a warm light and retreated into his back.

Even though he had his own daemon now, Kurogane instinctively reached out. He stroked his knuckles along the back of Fai's hand. Akame lifted herself so that her head rested on Fai's shoulder. 

“It's okay,” Fai said. “I have a new home now.”

“So do I,” Kurogane said. 

Fai's eyes danced playfully. He lifted Kurogane's hand and traced Kurogane's finger down Fai's forehead, over his nose in the same manner Kurogane did with Akame. Kurogane let his finger rest on Fai's bottom lip.

Kurogane took a step forward, closer to Fai than he had ever been. Akame circled around Fai's shoulders, too, forcing them together. There was nothing left to do except to press his lips gently against Fai's. 

Fai exhaled against Kurogane's lips, a breathy laugh. “I thought that when this finally happened, it would be more... passionate.”

Kurogane blushed. “There are children here.”

Fai laughed, grabbed Kurogane's hand, kissed the back of it. He addressed the kids. “Where do we go from here?”

“Mokona can take us home super quick!” Mokona said. “Mokona remembers every place we've been.”

“So you could take us to the earth with Shura and Yama?” Syaoran asked.

“Yep!”

“Or to Hana?” Sakura asked.

“Yessee!”

“Or we could keep going,” Kurogane suggested. 

“I like that idea,” Fai said. “Who knows where else we'll end up.”

Sakura lit up. “That sounds good! I need to journey more and become a better priestess.”

“If you become any stronger, you'll be the strongest being in the universe,” Kurogane said.

Sakura didn't look like she minded too much. 

“I'd like to keep travelling, too,” Syaoran said. “Who knows what other earths we'll find?”

“Yes!” Mokona cheered.

Kurogane smiled. He left them discussing where to go next, whether they should use the rashinban or let fate guide them, and climbed up to the top deck. 

He gripped the steering wheel and searched the dark horizon. Wherever they went, they would need a captain, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading this long thing! I really appreciate it :)
> 
> Please go to https://kurofai.dreamwidth.org/122532.html to vote in the comments. You'll have to leave a link to social media for your vote to be counted.

**Author's Note:**

> Please see the last chapter for voting information.


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